


Sharp Wings; 鋭い翼 (Gintama Fanfiction)

by Akazuma_Kyouzakura



Category: Gintama
Genre: Amantos - Freeform, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Breaking the Fourth Wall, Canon Compliant, Canon Timeline, Canon Universe, Comedy, Cutesy, Dark, F/F, F/M, Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Original Character(s), Plot Twists, romantic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:27:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 70,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27488038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akazuma_Kyouzakura/pseuds/Akazuma_Kyouzakura
Summary: She has been passed on from group to group,  being the middleman - woman - in every situation. She never liked that, but she grew up being in the middle of everything so she got used to it. Even though she was as young as she was, she was very well known around the country.Fifteen years ago, everyone knew her.Almost seven years ago, everyone forgot about her.Now, she knows everyone, but no one exactly knows who she is.Except for certain people who both lived and roamed around Edo for the past years after the Joui war.She didn't expect to see them, and they didn't expect to see her.Both sides pretends, but both sides also knows the truth.What will she do?[The story will follow the Gintama Manga and Anime created by Sorachi Hideaki]
Relationships: Gintama/Original Character(s), Gintama/Reader, Hijikata Toshirou/Original Character(s), Hijikata Toshirou/reader, Kamui/Original Character(s), Kamui/Reader, Katsura Kotarou/Original Character(s), Katsura Koutarou/Reader, Kondo Isao/Original Character(s), Kondo Isao/Reader, Oboro/Original Character(s), Oboro/Reader, Okita Sougo/Original Character(s), Okita Sougo/reader, Sakamoto Tatsuma/Original Character(s), Sakamoto Tatsuma/Reader, Sakata Gintoki/Original Character(s), Sakata Gintoki/Reader, Shimura Shinpachi/Original Character(s), Shimura Shinpachi/Reader, Takasugi Shinsuke/Original Character(s), Takasugi Shinsuke/reader, Yamazaki Sagaru/Original Character(s), Yamazaki Sagaru/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 36





	1. Author's Notes

**Author's Note:**

> At the end of each chapter, there will be a Google form to fill out for a POPULARITY POLL or for QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS and REQUESTS. With this, we can interact as author and reader.  
>    
>  [This is the link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Updates will be once a week but if I have time, I will post twice a week.

I just have small things to say before we start.

Please try to read all of the Author's Notes at the top and bottom of the pages. It contains a lot of updates and occasionally things that I want to point out and clarify. Also, to repeat what I said in the notes:

To make things a little interesting, at the end of each chapter, there will be a Google Form attached. When you open it, it will show instructions on what you will do for the Popularity Poll arcs. You can write whoever your favorite character is from the anime or from the story and I will make a chapter out of it. On the same form, you can also ask questions and say some suggestions or requests if you have some.

This will go on throughout the whole story until the end, with a little twists and changes here and there.

Anyways, that's it for my ramble, enjoy the story!


	2. Prologue

The first thought that ran in her mind was, "It's so cold."

Really, that was just a small act in attempt to block out the pain that she was feeling around her body.

Not that she's not already used to it.

She had already lost count of the days that she had been lying on the cold ground of some moving vehicle – a ship, most likely. Every time they moved, she was always jostled around the small and cramp space that she was placed in – it always hurt her. She doesn't even know where she was anymore. She's not even sure _who_ she was, exactly. All she knows is that, because of the time that she had spent inside that small room, her eyes already learned how to adjust to the darkness.

She always hated the dark, but she didn't exactly go together with light, either.

It had been a long time since she saw sunlight. She never really liked the heat or the light ever since she was a kid since the sunlight tend to slightly burn her skin and the light always hurt her eyes, but she sometimes tolerated it enough to not use an umbrella when she goes out – of course, that was before she was stuck inside that small room. Some would mistake her for some ready-to-be extinct species of Amanto, but she knew that she was an Earthling down to the last drop of blood. Even if she forgot most of who she was, she would never forget that she's human. It was a promise that she made to someone when she was young – though, she doesn't remember exactly who she made that promise with.

"Have you checked up on her?"

She slowly opened her eyes. She always heard that voice coming from the outside of the room she was kept in. The voice was somewhat rough, but it was high in pitch – if she would hear that voice in public, she would immediately recognize it in a heartbeat. She doesn't know how many times that man had asked the same question – not that she was counting. She just wants to get out. Maybe she's finally missing the sunlight that she was already greatly deprived of. She thinks that her legs already gave up on her a long time ago, too.

"Yeah, she's still tied up, gagged and alive."

She always heard the same answer over and over again, always from different people with different voices. She knows that they were the guards that were posted outside of her small room. They always give the same answer, even without actually checking up on her. Well, they don't need to, anyway, because her hands were tied behind her back and her legs were tied together so she couldn't actually do anything but to press her cheek on the cold floor. They _do,_ actually, check up on her sometimes, but that's only when she's given food that she barely eats – they taste like dirt and wood. She thinks that her weight is already way below the average for her small size.

"Alright, then."

She always heard that response from the first man right after, and sounds of footsteps was heard echoing outside the small room until it slowly faded away. She was left on her own again. She always hated that, being left alone without anyone to talk to. She's already used to it, though, but at times like those, when she feels lonely, she liked to close her eyes and imagine things.

_"Let's go!"_

She liked to imagine that someone was yelling that to her while taking her hand. They would run up a hill while laughing and constantly looking behind them while trying not to trip on their own feet.

_"Wait for me!"_

She always thinks that someone would follow closely behind them, trying to catch up to her and the person holding her hand. They would laugh loudly while throwing harmless insults at each other, sometimes the person falling behind would lunge at them to try to tackle them to the ground but she and the other person would always get away.

_"Man, you lot are slow."_

She smiles to herself as she imagines a third person running beside them with a lazy smile on their face. All four of them would eventually run in a line while one was holding her hand as they pulled her up the hill.

_"Don't go too far, alright?"_

She gives a weak, barely audible chuckle as she imagines someone calling for them from the bottom of the hill, the person telling them to be careful with a slightly worried tone in their voice. They would always answer back with the same answers – sometimes "Okay!" sometimes "We'll be fine!" and eventually, they would all collapse on the grass while they looked up at the bright sky. They would always try their best to shield her from the sunlight, so they would always find a tree to lay under on.

She closed her eyes and eventually sees nothing else.

Right after looking at herself smiling and lying in between her closest friends, her imaginations always get cut. Nothing but darkness comes after that. Her mind would go blank once again, and she would remember that she couldn't have that fantasy anymore. The cycle would repeat every time she would feel lonely. Sometimes, she would cry herself to sleep after imagining things. No one would wipe away her tears, because no one would come for her. She had already accepted that fact a long time ago.

But, she still cried.

"No one's coming for you. No one tried, no one will."

"You're already forgotten by the people you thought of as your family and friends."

"They would never have the time to look for a rat like you."

"Just give up and give us what we want and this will be all over faster than you blink."

Those were the words that she would always hear during the rare times that she sees the door of her small room open. She doesn't like the person who was coming in to say those things to her – his voice was annoying, too. The person would fuss over how dirty she had become after lying on the floor for a long period of time and she always wanted to retort that it's because she wasn't given anything to clean herself up with, but she didn't have the strength to even speak full sentences so she just stays still. She always ignored what the man would say, but because of her restraints, she couldn't actually cover her ears to prevent her from earing those harsh words. They were harsh, but they were true; she knows. She would always tell that to herself after the man left her on her own again.

On her own.... Again....

She was already used to it.

Already.... Used to it....

The floors vibrated harshly after a long time of being idle, indicating that they were moving again. She had lost count of the times that they've moved to another place. She hated it when they moved. Another bruise would appear on her skin again because she was always get tossed around the room and she would bump into things that hurt her. Because of her malnourished body, her wounds hurt more than they usually do for another normal human. She doesn't know how long she could last outside of the room with her battered body. She always thought that she was already dead. As usual, at times like those, she always slept.

Sometimes, she actually wished that she would sleep forever.

"We're landing soon."

She abruptly woke at the sound of the voice outside of her room. She struggled to open her eyes, not that it did anything since it was dark – the only source of light was from the space under the door. The ground had lessened its moving, indicating that they were stopping. Someone was talking outside, and she knows that it's the man who always threw harsh words at her. It was the first time that she heard those words in a long time. Usually, they don't tell the guards standing outside her cell if they're landing, or if they're taking off. They just leave her there to imagine to herself.

"What are your orders, sir?" the guard standing outside her room said with a slightly heavy voice.

"We're at her home planet, make sure that she doesn't get out, or someone doesn't go after her." the man who kept her captive said with a commanding voice. "Though, I highly doubt that anyone will."

She smiled bitterly to herself as she curled her body, reducing herself to a small ball in the corner she was in. No one was coming for her, even if they're on Earth. Everyone forgot everything about her, already. To make things worse, she also forgot them. There was no need to look for someone like her.

"I also doubt that she would get away from her restraints, but make sure that she doesn't utter any noise. Same goes for that guy next door. Keep his mouth shut, got that?" The man outside instructed with a low voice.

"Yes, sir." The guard said, and from the way he said it, he seemed to have saluted, too. Footsteps were heard coming from outside and, like always, it faded after a couple of seconds. She was left alone in silence once again.

Nothing happened for a day, a week, a month. It was actually the first time that they stayed so long in one planet. She was slightly interested as to what they were doing on Earth, but she knows that she won't be getting to see the little blue planet any time soon. She thinks that she's doing to die, soon, too.

She secretly hopes.

But, apparently, fate wouldn't let her die so easily.

Not surprisingly, she found herself thinking about Earth, about two months after landing there. She doesn't remember much, being only as young as she was. Added to that, because her head had been beaten and banged for a considerable amount of time, her memories have become fuzzy.

But, even so, she still found herself crying to sleep while whimpering, trying to imagine what life had been if she wasn't there, if everything never happened, if she hadn't been reduced to a torn foot rag on the ground, if she just listened.

_"I want to go home."_

She cried and cried until she had no strength to even move her mouth anymore.

She closed her eyes and didn't open them again.

Inside, deep inside, she hoped that she _never_ opened her eyes ever again.  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	3. Act I

_HER_

_"Who are you?"_

_-Kagura_


	4. The question is, where's the main character?

* * *

_I_

_Manga: Lesson 12 - 14_

_Anime: Episode 13_

* * *

THE doorbell rang over and over again, signaling that there was someone outside the doors of the Yorozuya office located in Kabuki-chou in Edo.

"Excuse me!" the voice of one named Katsura Koutarou came from outside as he repeatedly pressed on the doorbell. He had been standing there for quite some time now, and he's been waiting for his friend, but there was still no answer coming from the other side of the door.

"It's Katsura." He called as he waited.

"Gintoki? I've been on standby outside your door since the prologue chapter. I never expected to appear earlier than you in the story. If possible, I'd like to rub it in your face." Katsura said as he pressed on the doorbell once again. Like before, there was no answer.

"Gintoki!" he called again after a short while. Surprisingly, this time, someone opened the door. A large dog stood on the other side, looking curiously at Katsura.

"E – excuse me, is Gintoki-kun home?" The dark haired male asked the large animal as if he would answer back. The white dog stared at the tall male for a few seconds more before it turned its head to the side.

Taking it as a sign, Katsura pulled up the paper bag he was holding and presented it to the dog. "Well, I have some sweets as a token of..." he started, looking at the large animal in front of him. It gave no response, so Katsura just continued.

"I'll just leave them here, then." He said as he attempted to place the paper bag on the floor beside the door. "Enjoy-,"

Before he could finish what he was saying, the dog leapt up to him and took his head whole. Katsura doesn't know how long he had been inside the dog's mouth, but he couldn't do anything, so he just stood there.

"So much for my opening scene."

On the other side of Edo, a little girl named Kagura stared at the bamboo lawn decoration on the pond behind some rich man's house. She had taken a fascination on watching the small cycle over and over again, ever since she and the Yorozuya got to that house. Inside the small, open room behind her, a boy named Shimura Shinpachi sat beside stupid-looking perm head named Sakata Gintoki. The trio was there for a job request coming from the owner of the house, but the leader of the Yorozuya didn't look like he was listening to what his client has been talking about for the past minutes.

"Gin-san, please pay attention." Shinpachi whispered to the white haired male beside him, being careful to not get heard by their client. "I know that you're sulking because you didn't get to appear first and because you were just called a 'stupid-looking perm head', but we have a client, so at least look like you're listening to him." he said, trying his best to convey his message to his boss.

"Zip it, Shinpachi." Gintoki glared at the shorter male with bloodshot eyes. "The only reason why I'm acting like this is because I have a hangover, not because I'm sulking." He hissed while rubbing his eyes.

"Just try to look natural, Gin-san." Shinpachi scolded and proceeded to listen to their client.

"I know it sounds odd for me, her father, to say this," Their client said as he pulled up something from under his sleeve, seemingly not noticing Gintoki's lack of interest in him. "but she's a beautiful girl, so I'm worried that she's gotten mixed up in something dreadful." He continued, giving a picture to the two people in front of him.

Gintoki took the picture in his hand and inspected it, looking at the person who their client claimed to be as his daughter. From beside him, Shinpachi peeked over the taller male's shoulder to look at the same picture.

"Yes, I agree." Gintoki nodded in a bored voice. "I'd say there's a good chance that she got caught up in some sort of huge ham-processing machine or something." Beside him, Shinpachi's jaw dropped as a mortified expression came up to his face.

"No, that's not what I meant. I'm thinking she's caught up in some sort of trouble." Their client said, sounding like he didn't understand what Gintoki had just said.

"Trouble?" the white haired male blinked. "Oh, like ham-processing trouble?" he asked.

"Hey, that's enough already. Are you trying to ruin this deal?" Shinpachi asked lowly from his seat as he slightly glared at his boss. He sighed, before he looked back at their client.

"But are you sure you want us to handle this?" he asked the man sitting in front of them. "It sounds like a matter for the police."

"I can't afford a public scandal." The man replied while keeping his head bowed. "Our family is of an ancient and honorable lineage that has served the Tokugawa family since the time the Shogunate was formed. The entire clan will be shamed if it gets out that my precious darling is a club-hopping skank." He paused as he looked at the Yorozuya.

"Please, just bring her back home to me.... and keep this quiet."

Gintoki sighed as he stood up, pulling Shinpachi along with him and calling for Kagura, telling the younger two that they would investigate the matter immediately so that he could get some sleep. Their client thanked him over and over again and the Yorozuya trio left the manor, all three of them heading towards the club that their client's daughter frequented at.

A few minutes after they've arrived at the club, Shinpachi found himself looking at Kagura, who was talking to the barista behind them. It looked like she didn't know what she was doing and Shinpachi was already getting worried that they won't be finishing their job if they leave everything to Kagura.

"Yeah, whatever." Gintoki groaned as he rubbed his face, his sight and mind getting clouded by the lights and the sounds of the club. "The daughter's just some slut who's probably camping out some dude's house, that stupid daughter." He groaned again.

"I can't take this job seriously. Let's buy a big ham and give it to her dad. He'll never know the difference."

"There's no way you could do that!" Shinpachi yelled at his boss. "And how long are you going to keep milking that ham joke?!"

Gintoki sighed as he stood, ignoring Shinpachi. "Sorry, but I've got a hangover and I feel like crap." He said while walking away from their booth. "Just take of it, will you, Shin-chan." He waved before he went to the direction of the bathroom.

"Wait, Gin-san!" Shinpachi called as he stood, but the older kept walking forwards. A man suddenly bumped on Shinpachi's back, causing him to yelp as he looked behind him. The young boy immediately apologized on reflex and saw a scary looking man behind him.

"Kid, watch where you're going." The Amanto behind him said with a sharp look on his eye. His voice was a bit higher than a normal male's, Shinpachi noticed. Slightly scared, the dark haired male took a step back when he saw the Amanto reaching up to him, only to find out that he was grabbing a speck of dirt on Shinpachi's shoulder.

"You have the gall to walk around with dust on your shoulder." The Amanto said, inspecting the speck of dust before blowing it away. "You ought to pay a bit more attention to your appearance." He huffed before he walked away.

"Who was that guy?" Shinpachi said to himself as he watched the Amanto walk away towards the bathroom. At the same time, Kagura suddenly came from behind Shinpachi and called his name, making him look towards he younger girl's direction.

"I'm bored. This fella looks kind of like her." Kagura said, pointing to a woozy looking guy beside her. "Let's use him." she said.

"Sheesh, nobody is taking this job seriously!" Shinpachi slightly raised his voice. "I think nobody knows that this is a major part of the story. It's only the beginning, for heaven's sake." He muttered before he sighed while shaking his head.

"Anyway, there's no way you can pass this guy off as her!" he scolded the young Amanto. "This isn't even a 'Hammy.' What you've got here, it's a 'Ham-ilton'!"

Kagura clicked her tongue. "Eat one ham, you've eaten them all. Shit!" she cursed.

"Huh?!" Shinpachi raised a brow. "Going through a rebellious stage?"

All of a sudden, the person beside Kagura collapsed on the ground, startling both Shinpachi and the girl in front of him. In attempt to lift the man up, Kagura pulled him to his side while Shinpachi inspected him.

"This dude.... He's not drunk." Shinpachi's brows furrowed. Suddenly, the barista that Kagura was talking to, earlier, came and hauled the large man up, telling Shinpachi and Kagura about the new drug that has been circling around the place, lately.

"A drug?" Shinpachi and Kagura looked at each other after watching the barista take the large man away. They sat inside their booth and waited, both getting anxious at the whole situation they were in.

"I've got a bad feeling, Kagura-chan." The older of the two said to the younger woman in front of him as he looked around. Kagura hummed as she fiddled with her hands.

"Gin-san's taking too long." The older muttered. "I'd rather that we get out of here as soon as possible."

"I'll go find him." Kagura offered but as soon as she was about to step out of their booth, the barrel of a gun was pointed at her temple and they were surrounded by scary looking Amanto that looked like they were going to eat them.

"Are you the jerks who've been snooping around here?" one of the Amanto asked as he glared down at Kagura and Shinpachi.

"Who are you guys?!" Shinpachi yelled, cautiously looking at Kagura to see if they weren't doing anything to his friend.

"Don't play dumb with us." One of the Amanto replied. "You've been poking your noses were they don't belong, haven't you?"

"If you're so interested in our business, we'll show you," Another one said with a smirk on their face. "how frightening the Harusame space pirates can be!"

Shinpachi and Kagura passed out after they were forced to inhale some strange white powder.

Shinpachi slowly opened his eyes, seeing nothing but blurred images around him. He was pressed on the ground, with someone being pressed on his back. He tried to move to stand, but his hands were bound behind his back.

"Don't try to move." A male voice said when Shinpachi tried to wiggle around. "There's a girl on your back. She might fall and get even more hurt if you keep moving."

"Wh – where am I?" Shinpachi managed to blurt out, trying to find where the voice was coming from. His vision slowly started to clear.

"In some storage space of a ship." The hoarse voice answered. Shinpachi moved his eyes towards the corner of the room and saw a man curled up on the corner of the room. He seemed to be tightly bound, just like the dark haired male. He was so pale that the bruises on his skin was so evident, it almost hurt Shinpachi, too.

"How long have we been here?" the young boy asked, still slightly groggy.

"Already becoming a day. You came here last night." The man answered, before he coughed. "Good for you. For us, I don't know how lo-," his voice suddenly faded and he didn't utter another word. Shinpachi immediately thought that he passed out.

All of a sudden, the door opened and Shinpachi and Kagura were hauled up and away from the man – they didn't take the other person along. The two teens were pulled towards another room, their captors harshly dropping them to the ground. There were two Amantos with them. They were talking to each other, but Shinpachi couldn't figure out what they were saying. He caught a bunch of words, but he couldn't exactly understand them. He and Kagura were hauled up once again and Shinpachi was thrown on the ground before a bucket of water was dumped on his face, effectively waking him up.

"That's right." Shinpachi muttered to himself. "We were captured by pirates." He immediately looked up at the realization and saw Kagura being held by her collar, in danger of falling off the edge of the ship.

"Kagura-chan!" the young boy called out.

"I hate filthy scum who interfere with my business." The man holding Kagura said. "So now I want to clean out you pesky rats. Tell me where your nest is." He said, looking at Shinpachi. "If you try to hold out, she dies."

"What're you talking about?!" Shinpachi yelled.

"Don't play dumb. We know that you're a rebel." The man glared, slightly shocking the young boy.

An Amanto suddenly grabbed Shinpachi's hair and pulled him up. "Tell us where your secret base of operations is! Where is that scum, Katsura?!" he pushed the young boy on the ground.

"What're you guys talking about?!" Shinpachi raised his voice. "We're not exclusionist rebels, nor do we know where Katsura-san is! Let Kagura-chan go! This is the land of the samurai!" He glared up at the Amanto holding his friend and saw Kagura kicking the Amanto in the face, causing him to let her go and let her fall.

"Kagura-chan!" Shinpachi's eyes widened.

"I don't want to get in your way. Bye-bye." Kagura said with a smile on her face.

"Wait!" Someone yelled. "Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait!"

A man with white hair came running at the side of the ship and caught Kagura, pulling them both to where Shinpachi was with a crash. Even without thinking, Shinpachi immediately knows that it's his stupid boss.

"Gin-san!" he yelled, and at the same time, something blew up from inside the ship.

"What the-?!" the Amanto that held them captive exclaimed, looking at the explosion.

"Daraku-san! There was in explosion in the storeroom!" another Amanto came from the inside of the ship and informed their leader.

Daraku's eyes widened. "The girl?!" he immediately yelled, his tone frantic. "The girl and her other half! Get them out of here!"

"So you've been keeping other people captive inside?" Katsura's voice suddenly came from above Daraku, making him look up with a glare. The tall male proudly stood there in a captain suit.

"I don't care what happens!" Daraku suddenly raised his voice before he gritted his teeth. "Just get those two out of here! The price we'll pay would be far greater if we let those two get away from our grasp!"

"Yes, sir!" all the ships' personnel suddenly dispersed.

"Zura!" Gintoki yelled as he ran to knock down the Amantos that were running towards the inside of the ship, knowing that his friend would get what he was yelling about.

"I'll find the hostages!" Katsura yelled back. "And it's not Zura, it's Captain Katsura!" he jumped and threw bombs everywhere as he ran towards the inside of the ship.

Meanwhile, Gintoki and Daraku faced each other. "You've made an enemy of the entire Harusame gang." The latter said. "Soon, the Harusame from throughout the universe will come to kill you."

"Yeah? So what? You won't be around to see it." Gintoki pulled out his bokuto and pointed it to Daraku. "Listen, I don't care what you do somewhere else in the universe, but anywhere within the reach of my sword is my country." He glared.

"Anyone who comes here and messes with my people, whether he's the Shogun, space pirates, a meteorite, I'll cut them all down!"

They two clashed their swords together, and the fight was concluded less than fifteen seconds later, with Daraku falling on the ground with a loud thud. Gintoki pulled back his sword and sighed, looking back at his friends. He undid their binds and pulled them up to their feet. Before he could say something to the two teens, a sharp yell caught his attention.

"Gintoki!!"

At Katsura's sudden call, Gintoki faced the ship. It was the first time he heard so much urgency at his friend's voice and it immediately made him run towards where Katsura was. Shinpachi and Kagura followed closely behind him, also wondering why Katsura's voice suddenly became like that.

"Gintoki! Come over here, quick!"

"Zura, what's wrong?" Gintoki asked when he said the dark haired male crouching in the hallway in front of a small room.

One look from Katsura made Gintoki's face turn pale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	5. Comic relief is useless if you don't know how to write them properly

* * *

_II_

* * *

SHINPACHI and Kagura looked at each other as they both thought of the same thing.

“What the hell is this story about again?”

It had already been a week and a half since their encounter with the Haruasame pirates. After Katsura and Gintoki saved Kagura and Shinpachi, the two older males went off to look for the other hostages that were present inside the ship aside from the two teens. Shinpachi and Kagura followed closely behind them. As soon as the two older males saw who was inside that small room, they both just stared at each other and kept quiet as they picked up the person inside and went to the room next to it. There, they saw the man that Shinpachi saw when he groggily woke up for the first time that they were inside the ship. Because of the severity of the wounds and bruises of the other kidnapped people, the two hostages were rushed to the hospital with Katsura and Gintoki keeping quiet the whole time.

Since the Shinsengumi was the one investigating the Harusame incident, one way or another, they would find out that there were hostages inside the ship that sank a week and a half ago. It would be troublesome if they found out that Gintoki and Katsura were involved in the incident, so they forced the hospital to discharge the two hostages and made them settle inside the Shimura household for treatment from Shinpachi’s sister. Tae was skeptical, but she didn’t have the heart to refuse to treat two heavily injured people.

After the incident, the Yorozuya trio spent their time at the Shimura household, waiting for the heat from the Shinsengumi to die down. Gintoki never left the compound ever since they brought the two rescued hostages inside the house. Shinpachi and Kagura have a guess as to why, but they couldn’t exactly confirm it because the two older males were keeping their mouths shut about it.

“Otae-dono, how are they?” Katsura asked the young woman when he came to visit, three weeks after the incident.

“I’m sorry, Katsura-san, but I’m afraid neither of them are budging.” Tae said with pity in her voice as she looked behind her, eyeing the spot where a small girl laid on her back, her body snug inside a futon on the floor.

“I see.” Katsura replied in a low voice. “Might you know where I would find Gintoki?” he asked.

Tae nodded. “He might be at the back, under the lone tree there. He’s been there since this morning.” The young woman smiled when Katsura gave a slight bow and walked off towards the back of the house. At the same time, Kagura came inside the room with towels on top of her arms.

“I never saw Zura and Gin-chan act like how they’re acting right now.” The young girl said as she passed off the towels to Tae.

“Well, you’re not the only one.” The older replied as she and Kagura went inside the room that housed another girl. “You said that they’ve been like that ever since they saw her, right?” Tae asked as she gestured to the girl sleeping under the futon.

“Yeah.” Kagura nodded. “They’re not telling us anything at all, either.” She pouted as she handed Tae a small bowl of water.

“Those two are both mysterious people, Kagura-chan. Gin-san even more so than Katsura-san.” Tae smiled she soaked the towel with the water and began wiping it on the girl’s skin. She brushed away the girl’s very long teal hair away from her very pale, almost white skin. It was scarily similar to Kagura’s own complexion, if not whiter – if that even is possible.

Kagura huffed. “They should really tell us who she is. It’s hard to not refer to her by her name.” She pouted, before she stood up with Tae after a while of wiping the girl’s skin and redoing her bandages. “Besides, she’s supposed to be the main character, but it looks as though we’re still the main ones – I mean, not that I’m complaining, or anything.”

Tae chuckled. “Don’t say that, Kagura-chan.” She said as she stood up. “Come on, let’s check on the other person with Shin-chan.” She continued, before the two girls went out of the room and walked towards the next door.

“Shin-chan?” Tae called for her brother and a few seconds later, a voice of confirmation came from the other side. Tae pulled open the shouji door open and walked inside with Kagura.

“How is he?” the oldest asked.

Shinpachi looked back at his sister. “Like three weeks ago, still nothing.” He answered as he looked at the man sleeping under the futon. The man had messy teal hair and very pale skin, strikingly similar to the girl sleeping next door.

“Can we wake them up already?” Kagura asked, pulling back the sleeves of her clothing. “This is too serious for Gintama. I can’t take the seriousness of this chapter at all. Can we speed this up?” she clapped her hands together for emphasis.

“Now, now, Kagura-chan.” Shinpachi coaxed the girl to calm down. “We’ll just have to wait for them to wake up on their own. Who knows how long they’ve been stuck inside that ship.” He said as he looked at the man.

“We should go check up on Gin-san and Katsura-san.” Tae suggested and her brother nodded as he stood up.

Movement from under the futon grabbed the three people’s attentions.

A low groan made them look at the man sleeping on the floor.

Everyone halted on their movements and watched the man squirm slightly.

“I wasn’t imagining that, right?” Shinpachi asked, looking at the two girls present.

“I don’t think so.” Tae shook her head as she kneeled on the ground, right next to the man. “Excuse me.” she said in a small voice, trying not to startle the him. The man cracked open an eyelid and everyone saw an olive colored eye from underneath.

“It’s alright, you’re safe here.” Tae smiled when the man opened both his eyes. He blinked a couple of times before he directed his half-open eyes at Tae and the other two people inside the room.

“Wh – where am-,” he was abruptly cut by his own coughs and Shinpachi hurried out to get water. “Wh – where am I?” the man tried again, his voice hoarse like he was eating sandpaper.

“You’re in Kabuki-chou, in Edo.” Tae answered with a smile. “You were rescued from space pirates and was brought here. This is the Shimura household.”

“E – Edo?” the man asked, his half-lidded eyes closing. “Kabuki-chou?”

“Yes.” As soon as the word came out from Tae’s mouth, Shinpachi hurriedly came with a glass of water. The younger helped the man sit up to drink and later helped him lie back down again.

“Do you remember what happened before you woke up here?” Tae cautiously asked.

“I’m not sure.” The man answered as he closed his eyes. A few seconds passed without him talking and suddenly, his eyes opened and his whole body shot up, startling the three other occupants of the room.

“Was there a girl with me?” he asked the closest person next to him, which was Shinpachi.

“A g – girl?” the young boy asked as he blinked, slightly scared at the sudden actions of the man.

“Yes, a girl with teal hair just like me.” the man said as he kneeled on the futon. Shinpachi and the other wondered where he suddenly got the strength to move.

“Ye – yes, there was-,”

“Nori-san!”

A girl’s sharp yell cut off Shinpachi’s answer and it made the man in front of them abruptly stand up and run towards the voice. Tae and Kagura tried to block him, asking where he was going, but he was too fast for the two of them and he managed to get out of the room with some newfound strength.

“Shizuku!” the man yelled when he opened the door next door. Tae, Kagura and Shinpachi followed closely behind him as they yelled at him to go back to bed. They all stopped behind him as they tried to talk to him. Shinpachi peeked over the man’s shoulder from behind and saw that the girl that was unconscious for three weeks was finally awake. Gintoki and Katsura also seemed to be with her inside the room.

“Calm down.” Katsura said in a small voice, but the girl sitting on the futon seemed to be too scared to even look at the two males inside the room with her. She just kept pushing herself back with the heels of her feet and her hands, while keeping her eyes firmly shut.

“Shizuku!” The man in front of Shinpachi and the others lunged towards the girl and pulled her away from Gintoki and Katsura. In one swift movement, he pulled out a katana from the side of the room, where Shinpachi and Tae displays one of the few swords that they owned, and pointed it at the two males, glaring at them while holding the girl close to his chest.

“Who are you?!” the man yelled as he backed up, away from Gintoki and Katsura.

“Who are you?” Gintoki asked back, raising his hands in front of him. The man gave no answer as he kept his olive eyes narrowed and kept his grip on the sword firm.

“Nori-san?” Shinpachi heard the small girl call.

“It’s okay, Shizuku, I’m here.” The man, Nori-san, answered as he continued to glare at the two in front of him.

“We mean no harm.” Katsura raised his hands in front of him. “As you can see, we are unarmed.” He said, gesturing to his waist to show that he doesn’t have his sword with him.

“But you sure are.” Gintoki commented, earning a small slap from Katsura beside him. Brushing him off, Gintoki continued. “You pulled out a sword from a sacred dojo. Don’t you have any respect?”

The man didn’t answer, instead, he looked down at the girl on his chest. “Where are we?” the girl asked as she looked around, her olive green eyes – strikingly similar to Nori-san’s – a little glassy, but not looking like she was going to cry.

“Alright, alright.” Tae stepped forwards with a smile on her face as she tried to calm everyone down. “Why don’t we start from the beginning, yes?” she said as she stepped in between the two parties and acted as the middleman.

“I’m Shimura Tae.” She introduced herself. “Those two over there are Shimura Shinpachi, my brother, and Kagura-chan.” Kagura and Shinpachi bowed slightly, not really knowing what to do.

“Gin-san, Katsura-san, your turn.” Tae said towards the two.

“My name is Sakata Gintoki.” Gintoki introduced himself. Shinpachi never missed the way he frowned slightly.

“I’m Katsura Koutarou.” Katsura followed after. Kagura noticed the clenched fist by the taller male’s side.

The teal haired man looked like he wasn’t going to speak any time soon, but after the teal haired girl whispered something to him that no one else but the teal haired man caught, he sighed and gave in. The man let go of the girl and laid the sword he was holding on the floor. Shinpachi and Kagura stared for a few seconds before they listened to the two teal haired people’s introductions.

“My name is Kusahara Noriyasu.” The man introduced himself after kneeling as he bowed, looking like he was already calmed down, but he was still evidently keeping his guard up. “This is my cousin.”

“My name is Kusahara Shizuku.” The girl beside him bowed, too, before raising her head to look at Gintoki and Katsura, who were looking at each other.

“Kusahara Shizuku, right, Shizuku-dono?” Katsura asked, stepping forwards, only to step back again when Kusahara stood up on one knee, looking like he was ready to prance at him.

“Yes.” Shizuku nodded with a small smile on her face, her eyes turning half-lidded but looking as if she was trying her best to not look like she was already getting tired.

“I see.” Gintoki and Katsura said at the same time, both of their voices low, almost non-audible for anyone.

“N – now that we know each other, why don’t you both get out the room and let these two rest?” Tae suggested to Gintoki and Katsura, noticing their shift in moods. The two took no time to answer and immediately nodded, stepping out of the room after they did so. Shinpachi and Kagura followed behind them, leaving Tae with the other two.

“Excuse me.” Kusahara said from behind Tae, earning her attention. She was slightly shocked to see both people behind her in a formal bow.

“We’re sorry for causing trouble.” The older Kusahara said, keeping his forehead close to the ground. “Please excuse my rudeness. I’m a little jumpy towards new people.”

“That’s alright.” Tae chuckled, before asking the two to lift their heads. “I’m sure you don’t want to get separated from each other, don’t you?” she asked sweetly.

“If possible, would you let us be in the same room, Tae-dono?” Kusahara asked, keeping his stance formal.

“You’re so stiff, Noriyasu-san.” Tae smiled.

“Please call me by my last name, Tae-dono.” Kusahara replied with a small curve on his lips. “It sounds nicer than my first name. Besides, me and Shizuku are used to being called as just ‘Kusahara’ and ‘Shizuku’.”

“Are you sure?” Tae asked while pulling out a futon from the cabinet in the corner.

“No need to worry.” Shizuku smiled, her voice weak and barely audible, her eyes looking sleepy. Kusahara took her in his arms and carried her, placing her back inside her futon in the middle of the room.

“Alright, then.” The older girl said as she laid the futon on the floor, positioning it next to Shizuku’s own.

“I have a question, Tae-dono.” Kusahara asked as he fixed Shizuku’s hair under her head. Tae gave a hum before the older male replied. “You don’t happen to see a necklace around my cousin’s neck when we were brought here?”

Tae looked slightly shocked at the odd question, but she answered anyways. “Yes, it’s over here.” She said as she walked towards the table at the corner of the room. She picked up the choker-like necklace with a long silver chain attached to it, and looked at the pendant hanging from the silver chain.

The pendant looked like a shining silver snowflake with small, white diamonds glimmering on some parts of it. Giving it not much of a thought, the Tae went over to Kusahara and gave the necklace to Kusahara.

“Thank you.” The older male tipped his head before pocketing the silver chain and he continued on what he was doing.

“Would it be alright if I leave the two of you alone for a bit?” Tae asked as she went towards the door. “I’m sorry for the two men here earlier, but I think I need to go check up to the two of them.” She said, a worried tone on her voice.

“It’s quite alright, Tae-dono.” Kusahara answered as he tucked Shizuku in. The young girl seemed to fall asleep at the moment, her olive eyes disappearing from Tae’s view in an instant. “We’ll be alright here.” The older said.

Tae looked behind her for the last time before she opened the shouji door, stepped outside and closed it behind her. She immediately went towards the backyard without a thought, knowing that the two older males would be there. However, she was surprised to see both Kagura and Shinpachi sitting under the tree behind their house. Both of them looked really defeated.

“Shin-chan? Kagura-chan?” Tae called, earning the two teens’ attention. “Where are Katsura-san and Gin-san?”

“They left.” Shinpachi answered with a sigh. “Without telling us, they just left.” He said, sagging down on his spot.

“Ane-go, those two, who exactly are they?” Kagura asked, her eyes looking curious. “Gin-chan immediately left with Zura, and they both looked like they were going to murder someone. Is someone going to die?”

“I’m not sure, myself, Kagura-chan.” Tae answered with her head down. “And no, no one’s going to die.” She said reassuringly.

“Kagura-chan’s right.” Shinpachi suddenly said. “She said it earlier. This is too serious for Gintama. Where are the jokes? Where are the humor? Why did the author start off the story with such a serious chapter? No one’s going to read this!”

“It’s an introduction chapter, Shin-chan.” Tae smiled as she patted her brother’s head. “Besides, the author is used to writing serious stories. This is the first time she’s writing something like this. This is also the first time she’s publishing what she wrote.”

“But this is so boring, Ane-go.” Kagura pouted as she whined. “If I knew any better, I’d say that she just doesn’t know how to write properly. Her comic reliefs aren’t even considered as comic reliefs!”

“Well, let’s just wait for the next chapter to come, alright?” Tae smiled again before she looked back at their house.

“Though, I really wonder who those two are.” She said, making the other two look back at the house, too.

“But, you’re right, Shin-chan. No one’s going to read this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> I'm also planning to put "Shizakura-sensei" extras at the end of chapters (It's similar to Ginpachi-sensei) so if you want to ask things, click on the link in the comments section. (BTW It's the same link as the popularity poll voting, just read the foreword on the form)
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	6. Apparently, being tax thieves is a well paying job

* * *

_III_

_Manga: Lesson 23_

_Anime: Episode 14, part B_

* * *

ONE week after Shizuku and Kusahara woke up, surprisingly, the latter was already well enough to move around on his own. He helped around the dojo with whatever he could do, he was a rather skilled cook – at least he significantly makes better cooking than Tae’s dark matter but Shinpachi would never say that to his sister’s face. Kusahara cleans the house when the siblings are out, and he tends to Shizuku, who was still not fully recovered, but was well enough to sit up and move on her own.

The Yorozuya visits when they could. Gintoki has been acting oddly around Shizuku and Kusahara, no one really knows why but everyone could see that he was still checking upon the two, even if he doesn’t really show it. Katsura visits, sometimes, too, when he’s not plotting to overthrow the Bakufu. Slowly, the Kusahara cousins started to fit in with everyone. Being close in age, Shinpachi, Kagura and Shizuku seemed to have clicked somewhere and instantly became friends, while Kusahara oddly became good friends with Tae, despite being a little older than the young woman.

One night, when the Kusahara cousins and the Shimura Siblings were having dinner inside Shizuku’s room, Kusahara brought up a topic that he hoped they had discussed sooner.

“Otae-san, Shinpachi-kun, I appreciate the two of you housing the two of us, but I think it’s time for us to leave.” Kusahara said as he looked at Shizuku, who was looking at him, looking like she was also hearing the new for the first time.

“We’re leaving?” the teal haired girl asked, her olive eyes slightly widened.

“We don’t mind you staying here, Kusahara-san.” Shinpachi said as he placed his bowl down the table. “We like you and Shizuku-chan here with us.”

“Yes, Kusahara-san.” Tae seconded as she gave Shizuku a second serving of food. “I’m sure both Kagura-chan and Shizuku-chan would become lonely if one of them leaves.”

“I kind of don’t want us to leave, Nori-san.” Shizuku said before gulping a glass of water. “Though, I know why you’re suggesting it.” she muttered, mostly to herself.

“Well, we can’t exactly live under someone’s house without paying them, Shizuku. You know that.” Kusahara reasoned, his voice soft. He turned to the older of the Shimura siblings. “Forgive me for saying this, Tae-san, but especially with your financial struggles, we can’t keep leeching off from your income as siblings.”

“We don’t really mind.” Shinpachi said brightly, clearly not wanting them to leave. “The house is big and it’s just the two of us here. To be honest, it’s gets a bit lonely, sometimes.” He said as he looked at his sister.

“Besides, with you helping with the housework and the cooking, I think that that’s enough for payment.” Tae nodded as she smiled, her eyes closing.

“But, still, it would be unfair for both of you.” Kusahara insisted, before he sat back in thought.

“Well, there is the option of getting a job, Kusahara-san.” Tae suggested, lifting her finger in the air. “If you get a job, then we could split everything. It would be a win-win situation.”

“That’s no good, Otae-san. You have to make him pay for keeping him inside your house.”

All four occupants of the room suddenly stopped at what they’re doing to look at the head that was coming from the ceiling of the house.

“A gorilla!” Shizuku yelled as she stumbled back, slightly shocked. Kusahara jumped from his seat and kicked the gorilla on the ceiling, causing him to fall on the ground. Kusahara kicked him once again to prevent him from landing on the food.

“Who are you and why have you come to the Shimura residence?” Kusahara glared at the gorilla as he stepped on its back.

“That’s Kondou-san.” Shinpachi said as he continued to eat his food, not really bothered. “Don’t worry, he’s always like that. He follows my sister around wherever she goes. It’s the first time that he came here in a month, though.”

“So, you’re a stalker?” Kusahara cracked his knuckles as Kondou faced him. “Why is a gorilla following Otae-san around when she clearly doesn’t want anything to do with an ape?”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Kondou yelled before he moved away from a blow coming from the taller male. They continued to run around the compound. Back inside the house, Shizuku followed the two males’ movements with her eyes.

“Is he always here?” The young teal haired girl asked as she watched. “Kondou-san, I mean.”

“Yep. Don’t mind him.” Tae said with a smile, before ushering Shizuku back towards the table. They resumed eating right after that. The voices of the two running around the compound was heard throughout the remaining of dinner time.

“Come back here, Gorilla!”

“Why should I take orders from you?! Are you Otae-san’s man?!”

“I am not, but I will certainly prevent you from causing a disturbance inside this household!”

“Aside from Shinpachi-kun, I will not accept that she has a man sleeping under the same roof as her! Otae-san! I love you!”

“I don’t love you back, Gorilla!”

Shizuku sighed before she chuckled. It was the first time she saw Kusahara enjoying himself while chasing after the older male. She smiled as she unconsciously thumbed her snowflake pendant.

For the first time in a while, Shizuku was alone. Kusahara was out job hunting, and since both Tae and Shinpachi had to go to work, Shizuku was left alone in the house. She was well enough to be walking on her own and preparing her own meals, but Kusahara and the Shimura siblings still insisted that she would stay at home and not go out of the house at all costs. Personally, Shizuku thinks that it’s fine if she goes out. Besides, she remembered that she would always sneak out from home when she was young. But still, she respected their wishes and stayed inside the house as she enjoyed the tranquil silence of the scenery at the back of the house.

“Shizu-nee?”

Shizuku looked up at the tree that was in front of her. She was sitting on the porch out back, enjoying being with herself, when she heard Kagura’s voice called for her name. Sure enough, Kagura was sitting on the tree branch with her purple umbrella covering her from the sunlight.

“Kagura-chan, hey.” Shizuku waved at the younger girl and watched her jumped down from the tree branch. If Kagura were another human, Shizuku would’ve fussed over how dangerous that was, but she knew that Kagura is a Yato, so she knows that the younger wouldn’t get hurt from jumping down a tree branch.

“Where’s your cousin?” Kagura asked as she looked around.

“He’s out job hunting.” Shizuku answered, letting Kagura sit beside her on the porch. “Technically, we don’t have any money, so he’s finding a source of income for both of us.”

“If you’re better, would you work, too?” Kagura asked, pulling out a box of sukonbu from her pocket and offering some to Shizuku, who has taken quite a liking to the sour taste of the snack – Gintoki and Shinpachi looked at her weirdly when she said that she liked sokonbu, but she didn’t let it bother her.

“Yeah.” Shizuku answered before taking the sour stick inside her mouth. “I want to help Nori-san earn something. Maybe we could even buy our own home somewhere.” She said as she smiled. There was comfortable silence in between them all before Kagura broke the silence.

“Do you want to go out?” she looked at the teal haired girl.

“I’m not supposed to be out until Nori-san comes home.” Shizuku replied, looking up at the sky. “But, yeah, I want to know more about the outside of the Shimura house.” Kagura hummed before she pulled Shizuku to her feet and began leading her towards the inside of the house.

“Kagura-chan, where are we going?” the older asked as they entered her room.

“Ane-go bought you some clothes, right?” Kagura asked as she began digging through Shizuku’s dresser.

“Yeah, but I haven’t really gotten the chance to us-,” before she could finish her sentence, Shizuku got pulled by the arms and into the bathroom. “Kagura-chan?”

A few minutes after entering the bathroom, Shizuku came out with a blue, short-skirted kimono with purple boarders and a purple and teal obi. Kagura also dressed her up with white stockings and some sandals. She even gave her a matching blue umbrella.

“I feel like an older sister.” Kagura wiped an imaginary tear away from her face. “You look perfect!”

“Kagura-chan, I don’t think Nori-san would like it if I left the house.” Shizuku said warily as she looked at herself. She had to admit, though, it was a nice kimono.

“It’s fine! We’ll be back even before he comes home. But just in case, we’ll leave a little note behind.” Kagura pulled Shizuku out of the front door even before she could protest. “Let’s go!” they stepped through Kabuki-chou with Sadaharu only minutes later.

It was Shizuku’s first time walking outside the Shimura household. There were so many things that she asked Kagura about and she was surprised that Kagura was answering all of her questions. A few hours after they went out of the house, they wandered off to the park. When they got there, Shizuku was shocked to see two kids picking on a someone that looked like she was around Kagura and Shizuku’s age.

Frowning at the sight, Kagura scoffed. “Watch and learn, Shizu-nee.” she smiled at the Shizuku before she walked towards the bullies. The slightly older girl watched as she fended them off with mere words and a simple dark look on her face. Shizuku wonders if Kagura was really younger than her.

The teal haired girl walked towards the dark haired girl that was being picked on a couple of seconds ago, shading her under her umbrella.

“Hello.” She greeted and the girl looked up at her, greeting her back.

“Hello.” She smiled back at Shizuku before she looked at the vermillion haired girl sitting on the seesaw. “Thank you, Queen of Kabuki-chou.” The dark haired girl thanked Kagura as she quietly sat on the swing.

“Don’t mention it.” Kagura replied with a slight glare towards the direction of the bullies.

“Are you alone?” Shizuku asked the dark haired girl as she moved beside her.

“I’m afraid so.” The girl answered as she looked at Shizuku. She stopped and stared for a second before she opened her mouth again.

“I’m sorry, but have we met somewhere before?” she asked with her head tilted to the side.

“I’m not sure.” Shizuku answered with a small smile. “I’m new here.”

“Oh.” The girl replied, before she smiled. “My name’s Soyo.”

“I’m Shizuku.” Shizuku introduced. “I’m sure you heard about Kagura-chan.”

“Shizuku?” Soyo tilted her head to the side.

“Yep.” The teal haired girl answered brightly while pulling out a packet of sukonbu from under her sleeves.

“Excuse me, but what’s that you’re eating?” Soyo suddenly asked. Shizuku and Kagura looked at each other, before they smiled.

Never in Kusahara’s life did he thought that he would sit formally in front of the same gorilla that he chased around the Shimura household’s compound only the night before.

“What a surprise, Kusahara-kun.” Kondou smirked at him as he smugly crossed his arms in front of him.

“Kondou-san.” Kusahara greeted as an irk mark appeared on his forehead. He calmed himself down as he sighed.

“You know this man, Kondou-san?” someone beside Kondou asked as he took a whiff from his cigarette.

“Kind of.” Kondou answered with a nod. “Toushi, this is Kusahara Noriyasu-kun. He’s living with Otae-san.”

“That just means that you need to stop pursuing her, Kondou-san.” The dark haired male beside Kondou replied with another huff.

“Now, now, Toushi. They’re not together, but they’re living together.”

Kusahara sighed as he mentally punched himself. He was supposed to be job hunting around Edo to find a source of income for both him and Shizuku. He had been to a lot of shops earlier that day, but none of them suited him. It just felt wrong for him to there, so his last resort was the police force – it was a stretch, but he’ll take the leap. He never thought that his friend’s gorilla stalker was the Chief of the Shinsengumi police force. So much for his chances, he silently thought to himself.

“Anyway, Kusahara Noriyasu.” The cigarette man said as he looked at Kusahara’s resume – something that Kusahara put together in the last minute only the night before. “I’m the Vice-Chief of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata Toushirou. I’m sure you’ve met our idiot Chief, Kondou Isao.”

“Nice to meet you.” Kusahara greeted as he tipped his head slightly.

“So, you like to apply here at the Shinsengumi, huh?” Hijikata took another whiff from his cigarette. “Do you have any experience with wielding a sword?”

“I do, but it’s all self-taught. I wasn’t taught in a dojo.” Kusahara replied. “I know that it’s not much, but I can fight.”

Hijikata hummed. Kusahara saw it coming. He knew that his chances to get into the Shinsengumi were low because of his lack of experience, but there was a lot to him that they don’t know yet, and he has protected Shizuku for a long time, so he thinks that it’s enough. All he really needs is to prove himself to the Shinsengumi and he could get the best job he was after.

Though, Shizuku would probably beat him to death.

“Kondou-san, I don’t know about this.” Hijikata said to his superior, snapping Kusahara away from his train of thought. Kondou was silent or a moment before he looked at the teal haired male kneeling in front of them. “We don’t really have the need to recruit new members.” The Vice-Chief continued.

“You said that you can wield a sword, right?” Kondou asked and Kusahara confidently nodded. “Alright, then.” The Chief nodded his head. “Let’s see what you can do.” He said as he stood.

“We don’t really have the time to do it today because we have a certain case of a runaway Princess at the moment, but tomorrow, come here to the Shinsengumi headquarters and we’ll have a test run on how you use a sword.” He said as he walked towards the door.

“Well, that would make sense.” Kusahara sighed to himself. “A test run after such a long while would be nice, too.”

“When was the last time you actually held a sword, though?” Kondou asked as he opened the shouji door. “Surely it would be recent?”

“I don’t mean to disappoint, but it’s quite a long time ago.” The teal haired male answered.

“Alright, then.” Kondou nodded before he stepped out of the room. “Just show up tomorrow, alright?” he called over his shoulder before he disappeared.

“Well, that’s that.” Hijikata said as he stood up with his sword. “Sorry, but we can’t cater to you today because of the Princess.”

“That’s fine.” Kusahara nodded as he stood up, too. “I understand why. Soyo-hime’s important.”

Hijikata stopped in his tracks towards the door. “I didn’t say that it was her that we need to deal with.” He said as he raised a brow.

Kusahara shrugged his shoulders. “I just made a guess.” He said as he dusted his pants. “I guess I nailed it.” he continued.

The Vice-Chief hummed lowly before he stepped out of the room and into the platform. “Be here at exactly eight in the morning. Don’t come late, don’t come early. Just be on time.”

“Alright.” The teal haired male nodded.

“Are you sure that you’ve held a sword before?” Hijikata asked over his shoulder. “You look like the type that haven’t even seen the other end of a blade.”

“Believe it or not, Hijikata-san, I get that a lot.” Kusahara sheepishly chuckled. “My complexion and my figure speaks ‘sickly’, ‘weak’ and ‘fragile’. I’m already used to it. And, yes, I’ve fought before. I just don’t look like it.”

The dark haired male in front of Kusahara raised a brow before he abruptly unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Kusahara’s pale neck in less than two seconds. The younger male didn’t even blink at the action, even when he was just literally a millimeter from getting his neck cut off. If anything, he looked completely relaxed watching the Vice-Chief of the Shinsengumi try to kill him. His fingers didn’t even tense or twitch.

“Oh?” Hijikata raised his brows as he looked directly at Kusahara’s olive eyes. “I’m beginning to see the potential, here.” He said with a smirk, keeping his blade pointed at the younger’s neck.

Kusahara chuckled as he slowly raised a hand and nonchalantly pushed away Hijikata’s blade with the back of his fingers. “I have to admit, I didn’t expect that, Hijikata-san.” He said slight amusement in his voice. “But, as far as your reputation of being the Demon Vice-Chief goes, I should have expected that you would go that far. Though, I’m a little surprised that you didn’t make even a cut on my neck just to prove your point.”

The older male retracted his blade and placed in back in its scabbard. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow. You’ll have to walk yourself out of the Shinsengumi. I need to go.” He said before he went out of the room, leaving Kusahara by himself.

“Well, I guess I’ll have to bring my sword out again.” The teal haired male sighed to himself before he walked home. The whole walk back, he was mentally preparing himself for tomorrow’s fight until he got back to the Shimura household, only for his mentality to slightly crumble when he saw the scribble on the paper at the front door of the house.

_“I took Shizuku out for the day! I’ll bring her back tonight! – Kagura”_

Kusahara crumpled up the piece of paper as three irk marks simultaneously appeared on his head.

“Those girls are going to get it.” he said through gritted teeth while cracking his knuckles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thanks!


	7. Getting hit by almost a hundred officers isn't enough to get a concussion

* * *

_IV_

_Manga: Lesson 23_

_Anime: Episode 14, part B_

* * *

SHIZUKU and Kagura spent the entire day with Soyo. The three of them had become closer and closer together as they went to different places around Kabuki-chou. Truthfully, Shizuku has never been happier in her life. Being surrounded by friends was the feeling that she always craved for whenever she looked out the window. Her thoughts would always go back to when she was imagining when she was inside the small room in the Harusame ship. It was nice trying to experience something that wasn’t from her imaginations.

“Soyo-chan, did you enjoy your day out with us?” Shizuku found herself asking the slightly younger girl when they watched the sunset from bench outside of a small dumpling store.

“Very much.” Soyo smiled brightly before she looked at Kagura. “Jou-san is so amazing. She’s younger than the two of us, but she knows so much.”

“I suppose I do.” Kagura said as she ate the last of her dumplings. “All that’s left is to go have a drink and stay out until the morning. That’s what the kids do. Though, of course, everything I know, I heard from Gin-chan.”

Shizuku’s eyes widened. “Kagura-chan, I think you should stop listening to whatever Gin-san is teaching you. Sometimes, he’s not exactly child-friendly.”

“What? But Gin-chan is a nice teacher, Shizu-nee.” Kagura pouted.

“He is, but not all the time, Kagura-chan.” The oldest among them replied with a smile.

“You both are so lucky You’re so free.” Soyo suddenly said after a while of comfortable silence in between the three of them. “I hardly ever left the castle, so I don’t have friends and I don’t know anything about the outside world. All I can do is gaze out at the distant city and use my imagination, wishing I could skip along without a care in the world and go out, free to play.” She paused.

“To live freely.”

Shizuku looked down on the ground. Her story seemed familiar, she thought to herself. Soyo was just like her, wanting to be free, but she can’t so she used her imagination. Shizuku smiled to herself.

“We’re the same.” The teal haired girl said before she could stop herself. Kagura and Soyo looked at her from the side. “I always wanted to be free of everything. I wanted to live freely and play outside with my friends, to be able to hold on to the closest people in my life and to run with them.” She smiled, remembering her imaginations back when she was still captive by the Harusame.

“I wasn’t this free back then, Soyo-chan.” She said as she looked at the dark haired girl beside her. “I was once a caged butterfly with no friends and no one to talk to, but look at me now.” She smiled brightly, her white teeth showing as her eyes turned into crescents.

“I’m talking with my friends and we had spent the day playing together.”

Shizuku pasued before she sighed. “Maybe, you are just like me.” she said, looking back at the sun, watching it slowly sink down. “Maybe that’s why you ran away from your home. Maybe you said that it was just only for one day, but know this, Hime-chan, if you were to vanish, it would cause grief for so many people.”

Soyo’s eyes widened before she suddenly started chuckling softly. “I heard the same words from someone, back when I was a little younger.” She said in a soft voice. “I don’t quite remember, be she was just like you, Shizuku-san. I may not remember what she looks like, I don’t even remember her name, but I know that she was always trapped with even stricter rules than me, but it didn’t stop either us from causing trouble.”

She looked at Shizuku. “Are you sure that we haven’t met before? She really sounds just like you.”

“I’m afraid not, Hime-sama.” Shizuku replied with her head shaking from side to side. “This is the first time I’ve been here.”

“Oh, I see.” The dark haired girl replied as she looked at the setting sun. “To tell you the truth, I don’t want to go back, yet.” She said.

“There’s always someone waiting for you to go home, Soyo-chan, like how someone is waiting for me and Kagura-chan.” Shizuku smiled again as she looked at the girl beside her.

“She’s right.”

At the sudden interruption, all three girls looked in front of them and saw a dark haired Shinsengumi officer standing there with a stern look on his face. Shizuku and Kagura slightly lifted their umbrellas to look at the man properly.

“So, let’s go home.” The officer said as he looked at Soyo.

Soyo sighed for a while before she stood. She took a step forwards, but Shizuku and Kagura took both of her wrists in their hands before she could take another step.

“What are you doing?!” the Shinsengumi officer yelled at the two girls.

“Soyo-chan, I said that there’s always someone waiting for you to come home, but I never said that it’s time for you to go.” Shizuku said as she held on her umbrella tightly. On the side, Kagura smirked and threw the stick of her dumplings towards the officer’s way. While he got distracted, Shizuku pulled Soyo away from the officer.

“Oi, wait!” the officer yelled, but Shizuku and Kagura ran faster with Soyo in tow. “Get them!” he ordered out loud.

In front of them, a bunch of other officers were present, but that didn’t stop Shizuku. “Kagura-chan, I’ll give you a boost.” she suddenly said, earning a questioning huff from the younger.

“What about you?” Kagura asked, pulling on Soyo.

“I’ll be fine.” Shizuku said before she let go of Soyo’s hand and ran faster. “Just give her the pep talk of the century and everything will be fine.” She positioned her hands in front of her for Kagura to step on and with the younger girl’s Yato strength, she jumped up with the boost and ran along the roof with Soyo.

Shizuku sighed as she shook her hands, getting rid of the slight sting of pain that she was feeling. She turned around was immediately faced with a bunch of Shinsengumi officers who was looking at her like they were debating whether or not they’ll arrest her.

“My, my, who knew that the China girl have friends around?” a light brown haired officer stood in front of Shizuku with a bazooka on his shoulder. Shizuku looked up – _up_ – at the man with a stern look in her olive eyes.

“Just give them a few minutes, the Princess will come down on her own.” Shizuku said, her gaze not wavering away from the officer’s red eyes.

“Oh? You’re feisty.” The officer smirked, his eyes turning sharp as his gaze darkened. “And what makes you so sure that she will do that?” he asked as he slightly bent down.

“Let’s just say that we’re one of the same and that I know her.” Shizuku answered, standing firm on her ground. “I know both of them.” she said mostly to herself.

“Oh, you’re Kusahara-kun’s cousin, right?” Both Shizuku and the brunet officer looked at the direction of the voice that said that.

“Ah, Gori-san!” Shizuku exclaimed, pointing at Kondou.

“You know this short girl, Kondou-san?” The brunet officer asked as he placed a heavy hand on top of Shizuku’s head. The young girl scrunched up her face as she attempted to remove the man’s hand on her head.

“Kind of, yeah.” Kondou replied with a nod. “What are you doing here?” he asked the girl.

“Just playing.” Shizuku smiled as she pulled away from the brunet officer’s hand, before she turned behind her and looked up at the roof where she knows Kagura and Soyo are hiding.

“Any time, now.” She muttered to herself as she felt a hovering aura behind her. “Excuse me, do you mind not standing so close to me?” she politely asked as she looked over her shoulder, seeing the same brunet officer looking down at her.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just waiting for the time I can blast your head with this bazooka.” The sandy haired male answered with a smirk.

“That’s enough.” Everyone’s eyes looked up at the roof at the sudden voice and saw Soyo standing there with her head up high. “I will come down, as long as you don’t arrest my friends.”

“Get the Princess down from there.” Kondou commanded and the Shinsengumi officers started to move to get a ladder.

“Sougo, stop playing with the Princess’ friend and get over here.” Someone with a low voice commanded from behind Shizuku and the brunet. The latter started to walk away after looking down directly at Shizuku’s olive eyes without saying anything.

“Yes, Hijikata-san.” The brunette officer just answered his superior and a few seconds later, he was gone. A few minutes after that, Soyo was successfully sent down to the ground.

“We’ll see each other again, right, Shizuku-san?” Soyo asked as she went up towards the teal haired girl.

“Just don’t run away from the palace again, alright?” Shizuku smiled and Soyo chuckled before she was ushered away by the Shinsengumi, leaving Shizuku behind with Kagura.

“Let’s go home, too, Kagura-chan.” Shizuku held out her hand towards the pouting girl behind her.

“Yeah.” the younger replied in small voice before taking Shizuku’s hand and they began walking home together. By that time, the moon was already starting to rise from behind them. On the way there, Sadaharu was waiting for them and took Kagura back to the Yorozuya, leaving the teal haired girl to walk on her own back towards the Shimura household.

When Shizuku came home, she fully expected the blows that came in contact with her head from different three people.

“Shizuku-chan, explain.” Otae and Shinpachi said in a low, ominous voice. In between them, Kusahara stayed silent but his aura was a lot darker than the other two.

“Sorry about that.” Shizuku laughed sheepishly under the gazes of the people she was currently living with.

She thinks that she just got a concussion.

“Are you sure that it’s alright for me to come with you?” Shizuku asked as she walked towards the Shinsengumi headquarters with Kusahara.

“Well, it’s your fault for sneaking out yesterday.” The older answered while keeping his arms crossed in front of him, his sword lightly swinging beside his hip.

“I told you that we were fine.” Shizuku huffed. “Besides, I still came home.”

“Yeah, but before that, you almost got arrested by the Shinsengumi.” Kusahara flicked the younger on the forehead, earning a small growl from the younger girl.

“Again, that’s not our fault.” Shizuku pouted slightly. “And we didn’t get arrested, that’s something, right?” Kusahara just sighed before he dropped his arms and rested his left hand on the teal hilt of his sword.

After a while of silence, Shizuku said something that Kusahara was fully prepared to hear.

“Why the Shinsengumi?” the young girl asked with a lower voice than usual.

“Honestly, Shizuku, do you see me serving food and giving out change to customers at the convenient store?” Kusahara retorted as he glanced down at the girl walking beside him. She had her face hidden under her umbrella, but Kusahara could still feel the emotion radiating from her.

Shizuku sighed as she closed her eyes. “You’re right, I don’t.” she said with a small voice. “But you know why I’m asking, Nori-san.”

“I’m aware, yeah.” Kusahara nodded. “I’m aware of the risks of entering the Police Force, Shizuku. I also know what it would bring to the both of us if we’re caught and we’re not careful.”

“But, why the Shinsengumi?” Shizuku asked again, this time, her voice was dripping with worry. “You could’ve just picked the District Police Force, or something like that.” she said. “Don’t you know how dangerous it is being so clo-,”

“Well, to be fair with my side of this conversation, Shizuku, I did suggest that we’d leave Edo.”

The young girl suddenly stopped at her tracks and looked down on the ground. Kusahara stepped ahead for a few seconds more before he, too, stopped. He looked behind him and saw Shizuku looking blankly at the rocks on the ground, staying still without saying anything. Kusahara sighed.

“I know that you’d say no about us leaving, but I still suggested it because I also know that you’d think twice and weigh all of the possibilities of something happening while we stay here.” He said as he walked back and lifted Shizuku’s umbrella before he patted the young girl on the head.

“Even before I asked, I already knew that you wouldn’t want to leave. Especially when you’ve already made friends.”

Shizuku sighed before she looked up and smiled at Kusahara. “You talk like you haven’t made friends, yourself.” She said with a slightly lighter voice.

Kusahara chuckled. “Well, you know that I can’t lie, Shizuku. Especially to you.” He ruffled the younger’s teal hair. “And besides, being in the Shinsengumi doesn’t sound so bad.” He smiled.

“The two of us just need to be cautious. Who knows what’ll happen on the way. And besides, we’ve both dealt with much worse.”

“But, Nori-san.”

“Yeah?”

“I think you’ve gone dull with using a sword. Don’t blame me if you die.”

“Shizuku! Have a little more faith in me!”

The two teal haired people started to laugh loudly before they began to walk again. The atmosphere was significantly lighter as they walked, and both Shizuku and Kusahara felt relieved for some reason. Soon, they already reached the Shinsengumi headquarters. There were officers waiting when they got there. Upon stepping through the gates, Shizuku immediately recognized one of the officers that were waiting for them. The officer recognized the girl just as easily.

“Oh, deadpanned-sandy-haired-officer-san.” Shizuku said before she could stop herself.

“Oh, China’s short friend.” The officer immediately replied while pointing at the younger girl.

“You know each other?” Kusahara asked as he looked in between Shizuku and the officer.

“We met literally just yesterday.” Shizuku answered as she looked up at the taller teal haired male.

“Well, this is surprising.” A low voice said from beside the brunet officer. “I never thought that the Princess’ friend is the cousin that Kondou-san has been talking about.” He said.

“Hijikata-san, good morning.” Kusahara bowed in respect. “It seems that you already met my cousin, Shizuku. I hope you don’t mind her being here.”

“Hello, again.” The teal haired girl waved sheepishly. “I came to watch.”

“Normally, I would refuse your entry at the station, but I guess it’s fine for now. Kusahara, let’s get you into some gear.” The officer, Hijikata said as he cocked his head towards the direction of the East wing. “Sougo, take Kusahara’s cousin to the dojo and entertain her.”

“Entertain?” The brunet officer asked, his eyes and brows perking up. “Are you sure about that, Hijikata-san?”

“Don’t do anything to her.” Hijikata growled lowly as he glared at the shorter officer. “I swear, Sougo, I will disembowel you.” From beside him, Kusahara’s eyes turned sharper as he glared at the brunet.

“That’s no way to threaten anyone, Hijikata-san.” The brunet officer replied with a monotone voice.

“Just do as I say, Sougo, for fuck’s sakes!”

A little while later, the other officers already went ahead and Hijikata and Kusahara disappeared towards the East wing of the compound, leaving Shizuku with the brunet officer in the small courtyard in front of the Shinsengumi headquarters.

“Well, then.” The brunet said as he pointed towards the west. “I’m supposed to look after you, so let’s go.” He turned around and started walking away.

“Thank you….” Shizuku said as she bowed, not really knowing how to call the brunet.

As if reading Shizuku’s mind, the officer looked over his shoulder for a brief moment and said, “It’s Okita Sougo.” Before he looked in front again.

“Alright, Okita-san.” The teal haired girl said shyly as she jogged to step in line with the officer.

Surprisingly, nothing much happened when they got to the dojo. A bunch of officers were already waiting there with their kendo armor on, waiting for the match to start. They were all much taller and much bigger than Shizuku so she felt a bit intimidated with their appearances.

“Come on, keep up, younger Kusahara.” Okita said as they went towards the bench at the side of the large dojo. As soon as Shizuku sat down, the doors opened and Kusahara and Hijikata walked in with Kondou. The teal haired male was already in armor when he went in. He stepped towards the middle of the dojo, where the other officers were already lined up.

“Good luck, Nori-san.” Shizuku said silently as she raised a thumb when Kusahara looked at her direction. The older gave a small nod before he faced all of his opponents.

“Alright, let’s make this quick.” Hijikata said as he stood in between Kusahara and the other officers. “Most of you still have reports to finish.”

“Now, now, Toushi.” Kondou laughed as he stood beside Shizuku. “No need to rush.”

Hijikata sighed before he looked at Kusahara, who was holding a kendo stick, instead of his sword. “Let the officers come to you. Don’t move from your spot, you got that?”

“Yes, Hijikata-san.” Kusahara replied while poising to defend himself. From either sides of Shizuku, Okita and Kondou uttered a short, low sound from the back of their throats.

“Oh?” Okita raised a brow.

“His form is good.” Kondou commented as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Just by looking at him, you can tell, right, Sougo?”

“Kondou-san, I thought you said that he wasn’t trained in a dojo.” Okita said as he glanced at his superior while drowning out the instructions that Hijikata was giving to Kusahara and the other officers.

“That’s what he said.” Kondou nodded before he looked down at Shizuku, who was sitting quietly in between them. “Did he go to a dojo, Shizuku-chan?”

The teal haired girl raised her gaze to look at Kondou. “No, Kondou-san.” She shook her head. “We always travelled, so he didn’t have the time to settle down with one.”

“Is that so?” the dark haired male hummed before he, Sougo and Shizuku looked in front of them, just in time for the match to begin.

“Now, let’s start!”

A few officers charged at the same time. Kusahara defended himself by deflecting their attacks and hitting them on the head or on parts of their bodies. He managed to effortlessly defeat four people in under five seconds.

“Oh, that cousin of yours is good.” The brunet beside Shizuku said with a smirk on his face. Shizuku said nothing as she continued to watch the fight.

Kusahara proceeded to smack down multiple officers at once without moving from his spot, just as Hijikata instructed. After four minutes, the first set of officers were already down on the ground, covered in small bruises and scratches.

“On to the second set!” Kondou ordered with faint amusement in his voice. After receiving orders, all fifteen officers from the second set charged at once. Shizuku gave a little chuckle.

“I’m sorry, but,”

Kusahara struck them all down in under six seconds.

“Wrong move.”

This went on for another forty minutes. Somewhere along that timeframe, even the officers that weren’t wearing armor joined in on the fight, but Kusahara said nothing and continued to strike them all down until all of the officers were all lying on the ground. By that time, the only ones left standing were the Shinsengumi’s top three officers. In her seat, Shizuku clapped softly as she smiled.

“Well, that was that.” Kusahara said as he removed his head gear and began wiping his sweat away.

“I think there’s no more words to say.” Hijikata sighed as he gave out an amused smirk. “Kondou-san?”

Before Kondou could formally give the word, someone cut over what he was going to say.

“Very interesting.” Okita said with a dark smirk on his face. He began walking towards the center of the dojo, picking up a kendo stick on the ground along the way.

“Sougo, don’t.” Hijikata called with a serious tone in his voice. “We’re done.”

Ignoring what the Vice-Chief had said, Okita gripped the kendo stick in his hands. He looked directly at Kusahara’s olive eyes and raised his head.

“Want to go against me?”

“Sou-,”

“No, Hijikata-san, it’s alright.” Kusahara said as he took off his armor in one swift movement and poised to fight, not just defend.

“Kusahara!” Hijikiata yelled.

“Shizuku-chan, can’t you stop your cousin?” Kondou asked as he warily looked down at the young girl. “He’s against the Shinsengumi’s best warrior, he’s going to get hurt.”

Shizuku just sighed as she slightly leaned back on her chair.

“I’m afraid that once Nori-san said that he wants to fight, he’ll fight. He won’t stop even if he gets a concussion.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	8. You know the people you bump into 99% of the time

* * *

_V_

_Manga: Lesson 26-27_

_Anime: Episode 23_

* * *

“EH, Kagura-chan won a trip to space?” Tae asked as her eyes widened.

“Yeah, but she only has enough for three people.” Shizuku nodded as she took the bowl of rice that the older girl was passing towards her way.

That morning, when Shizuku was out shopping or groceries, she had coincidentally bumped with Kagura at the same marketplace that she frequented at. The two of them shopped together, before the younger girl asked if they would stroll around the marketplace for a bit. Naturally, Shizuku agreed and they went on to different stalls just to look at the merchandise. They had passed on a particular stall that was handing out tickets for a trip to space if the costumers played their game and won. With Kagura’s luck, she had drawn out the winning ball and won. She said that she intended to take Shizuku with her, but the slightly older girl politely declined the offer since she didn’t exactly like the thought of going to space only two months and a half after they were rescued from the Harusame pirates. Kagura understood so she said that she’ll just take the Yorozuya with her. They went on their separate ways a few minutes after and both of them went home.

“Maybe Shinpachi-kun will tell us about it tonight.” Shizuku said as she and Tae prepared themselves to eat lunch.

It was Tae’s day off and she was accompanying Shizuku at home since Shinpachi had to go to work and since it was already Kusahara’s first month inside the Shinsengumi. Shizuku had grown accustomed to being the only one inside the house with all three of her housemates having to go to work. It was nice to have someone to accompany her every once in a while, though.

“Are you already fully recovered, Shizuku-chan?” Tae asked when they were already done eating lunch.

“I think so.” The younger girl answered with a smile on her face. “I feel a lot better than a month ago.”

“Are you sure?” the older asked warily with a worried tone. “Your skin is still deathly white.” She said as she took one of Shizuku’s hands. “If you hold a piece of paper, the color will blend in with your skin.”

“I’m always like this, Ane-san.” Shizuku reassured. “Ever since I could remember, I’m already this pale.”

“But you’re not a Yato, right?” Tae’s brows furrowed a bit. “I understand Kagura-chan’s situation, but you on the other hand, you’re an Earthling. Earthlings aren’t supposed to be this white.”

“I’m just sensitive to the sun, that’s all.” Shizuku replied with a chuckle. “I often get mistaken as a Yato, though, because I also carry an umbrella around with I go out, just like Kagura-chan. There was even one time that someone asked me if I was a demon because demons get burned under the sun, they said. I think they were Demon Slayers, or something.” She joked.

Tae seemed to think for a second before she sighed, patting Shizuku’s head. “Alright, then. Just tell me if you’re still not feeling well, okay?”

“I will, Ane-san.” Shizuku smiled brightly before she stood up and went towards the kitchen to start washing the dishes.

The two girls spent their day bonding with each other over random things that came to their minds. When the clock struck five-thirty in the evening, Shinpachi came home with the news that Tae and Shizuku were waiting for. He began packing his bags as soon as his older sister gave her permission. They began eating the dinner that the two girls prepared earlier right after Shinpachi was done preparing everything that he needed. Roughly two hours after they were done eating, Kusahara came home a bit more exhausted than how he was when he started working in the Shinsengumi. Since, technically, Shizuku’s a minor and Kusahara’s her legal guardian, the teal haired male was permitted to not stay in the Headquarters to look after his cousin. Just as long as he reports to the Headquarters on time.

“What happened to you?” Shizuku asked the older as she helped him take off his blazer. Tae was already at the kitchen, heating up the older male’s dinner. “You have a gash on your forehead.” Shizuku frowned as she inspected the small wound. It wasn’t bleeding anymore, but it was clear that it was fresh.

“Were you fighting with Okita-san again?” she asked as she flicked the older male on the forehead.

“Okay, first off, that’s literally the fifteenth time this week that you’ve asked me if I’ve been fighting with Okita-kun.” Kusahara slightly growled. “We don’t even fight that often.”

“It’s not like you can blame me.” Shizuku retorted while placing her hands over her hips. “When you had the test run to be in the Shinsengumi, you and Okita-san exchanged blows for two hours without any armor on. I think Kondou-san was already ready to faint from worrying for the two of you. Do you know how much bandages and antiseptic was used because of the severity of both of your wounds?” she huffed, remembering what happened almost two months ago.

“Of course I do, I was the victim.” Kusahara slightly grumbled as he scratched his head. “And besides, you could’ve stopped us at any time.”

“We tried.” Shizuku answered with a light flick on the taller male’s forehead. “Hijikata-san got a bruise on his cheek because of it.”

“Again, not our fault.” Kusahara shrugged. “I was actually more surprised that they still let me join, despite me using their funds for medical equipment. But, then again, it was also Okita-kun’s fault, so yeah, that’s that.”

Shizuku sighed as she dropped her stoic figure. Two months ago, she had to help with dressing up the Shinsengumi officers’ wounds after Kusahara did them in. After she helped them inside the medical wing, Shizuku went on to stop the fight between Okita and Kusahara, since even after they’ve let go of their kendo sticks – curtesy of a very angry and red (and purple) faced Hijikata – they still continued spouting out how strong they are compared to the other. Shizuku and Hijikata spent an hour dressing up Kusahara’s and Okita’s wounds, respectively, after tying bandages over their mouths to keep them from insulting each other more. The two males passed out immediately after the two people tending to them forced them down on the futon.

Shizuku gently placed her hands in front of her. “Well, where did you get that small wound, then?” she asked as her form relaxed.

“We had a chase.” Kusahara replied while taking his shoes off. “The one we were chasing had the First Division and Second Division running through the traffic lines.” He huffed while pulling on his cravat. “Even Hijikata-san got frustrated.”

“The criminal must be a runner, then.” The teal haired girl said a chuckle. “Or you’re just getting old.”

“I’m still young!” the older thumped on Shizuku’s head. “This is just my first chase as the Second Division’s captain, that’s all.”

Shizuku hummed. It still marveled everyone to no end that in only a span of one month, Kusahara was already promoted as the Second Division’s Captain – since the previous captain recently just retired to become a yorozuya down at the east of the city. It had been the Chief-of-police’s order to put him there, even with only a month’s worth of experience and with absolutely no past training. Everyone in the Shinsengumi questioned the decision but Kondou advised them to not ever question Matsudaira Katakuriko’s orders. Some of the officers were a bit skeptical as to why Kusahara got the promotion from the Chief-of-police, but eventually, they let it go after seeing Kusahara’s battle skills up front.

“Well, the Second Division’s Captain needs to eat before he takes a shower, or else, I will shove his stinky ass down the toilet.” Tae suddenly came from the kitchen and smiled ominously at the older male. Without a second to lose, Kusahara immediately went to the dining room to eat.

“If you’re going to shove him down the toilet, can I catch on video?” Shizuku asked as she looked up at the older girl beside her.

“Let’s have the gorilla poop there first before we shove him in.” Tae whispered at the teal haired girl’s ear. A laugh erupted from the two girls’ mouths and immediately, Kusahara felt a chill run up his spine.

“I’m not going to live today.” He sighed as he continued eating, already praying for his life.

“Ane-san, we’re going!”

“Take care!” Tae waved at Shizuku and Shinpachi from the front porch of their house.

“See you, Ane-ue!” Shimpachi waved back at his sister before he turned around and began walking towards the terminal.

Shizuku was coming to see them off before she goes shopping for food again. For some reason, all their eggs had gone missing only a day after she had bought it, so she had to make plans to go buy again. Kusahara had to report early to the Shinsengumi headquarters, so he had to send the Yorozuya his regards the night before. He wasn’t there when the three younger people under the same house as him woke up.

“Good morning, Gin-san, Kagura-chan.” Shizuku smiled as she and Shinpachi approached the terminal and saw the rest of the Yorozuya standing by the entrance. “Good morning to you too, Sadaharu-kun.” She said she watched the large dog approach her. Sadaharu seemed to have a liking to her, everyone noticed.

“Good morning, Shizu-nee!” Kagura enthusiastically waved at the teal haired girl before she came to hug her. Gintoki, on the other hand, seemed to be having trouble staying awake. He was leaning on the wall, his head slowly nodding down.

“What’s wrong with Gin-san?” Shinpachi asked Kagura as he laid his bag down on the floor next to Kagura’s own.

“He didn’t get enough sleep because he was excited.” The younger girl answered while glancing at the oldest. Shizuku and Shinpachi just sighed before they passed through security.

The two passed with no complications, but when it came to Gintoki and Kagura, they were held back. The former seemed to have a little trouble with the metal detector, while the younger was being told that she couldn’t bring Sadaharu along with her.

“Ma’am, bringing pets aboard is prohibited.” The staff officer said as he politely stood in front of Kagura, who had Sadaharu biting her head.

“It’s not a pet, it’s a doll.” Kagura replied to the staff officer with a straight face. Behind her, Sadaharu began panting.

“Dolls don’t pant.” The staff officer said with a slight frown, trying his best to stay calm.

“No. It’s not a doll. It’s a humidifier.” Kagura nonchalantly replied.

From her spot beside Shinpachi, Shizuku sighed before she approached her friend. “Kagura-chan, I think the possibility of him believing you is close to zero.” She said with slight pity on her voice. “I think you should leave Sadaharu-kun behind.”

“But, Shizu-nee, Sadaaru won’t cause anyone trouble and he doesn’t bite. I guarantee it.” Kagura said with a pout. Shizuku peered at the side and pointed at someone behind the younger girl.

“He’s doing it now, Kagura-chan.” She said with a straight face. Beside them, the staff officer suddenly gasped.

“Sir, are you alright?!” he fussed as he approached the man that the large dog was biting.

“What?” the man that Sadaharu was biting asked. A messy haired male woke up from his spot before sitting up. “I was having such a nice nap. Is it already time for my flight?” he asked, completely sounding like there wasn’t a dog biting on his head.

“My head’s throbbing, I guess I drank too much yesterday.” He said before he laughed.

“I’m terribly sorry for my friend’s dog, sir.” Shizuku said as she tried to gently pull on Sadaharu to make him let go of the messy haired man.

“Dog?” the man asked as he looked up at Shizuku through his dark shades. For a moment, Shizuku thought that the man scowled, but it was gone even before the young girl could blink.

“Well, I don’t know about a dog, but I feel heavy.” He said before he stood up and began walking away. “This is definitely a hangover. Thanks, little lady.” He waved back before faced forwards again, taking Sadaharu with him.

“Sadaharu!” Kagura called from beside Shizuku as she began running after her dog.

“What’s up with that guy?” Shizuku sighed before she joined her friend and began running after Sadaharu. All of a sudden the Yorozuya trio’s flight number was called through the intercom, causing her to stop at her tracks.

“Kagura-chan, you need to go.” Shizuku called for the younger girl, who was looking around for Sadaharu.

“But, Sadaharu.” Kagura said with a saddened expression on her face.

“I’m not sure where the man went, but I think he’s in the same flight as you.” Shizuku said, recalling the time when she caught a glimpse of the man’s ticket on his pocket only a few minutes ago. She thanks whoever was out there for her excellent eyesight.

“What if he takes Sadaharu away?” Kagura cried as she held on Shizuku’s hand.

“Based on how he acted earlier, maybe he’s going to get a pass to bring Sadaharu along with him and you can take him on the ship.” The older said brightly before she walked towards the boarding area, where the other two of the Yorozuya were already waiting.

“Where were you?” Gintoki asked before he gestured towards the ship. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Have a safe trip.” Shizuku called before she waved at the trio.

“See you, Shizuku-chan.” Shinpachi said as he, too, waved at the teal haired girl. A few minutes later, their ship took off from the terminal, leaving Shizuku alone.

With the thought that the messy haired male might come back, the young girl waited at the terminal for at least ten minutes. When she was sure that she wasn’t going to see him anytime soon, she went out and started walking towards the market with her umbrella wide open over her head. Since she knew that Tae would be at work already, she took her time shopping, stopping by at different stalls to check out the merchandise. At around lunchtime, she decided that she needed to go home and cook for herself, just as she always did when she’s alone at the house.

“Shizuku, what are you doing here?”

Shizuku turned around at the call of her name and saw Kusahara standing there with officers that the young girl assumed to be as his Division members.

“Nori-san, hey.” She greeted. She waved at the officers behind the taller male before she gestured to the food that she was holding. “I was just out shopping after I went to send the Yorozuya off.” She replied with her trademark smile.

“Oh, alright, then.” The older replied with a pat on Shizuku’s head. “So, you’re heading home already?”

“Yep.” The young girl nodded. “Are you out on patrol?”

“Yeah.” Kusahara answered with a sigh. “Well, we better get going before we get reprimanded.”

“Okay.” Shizuku said with a smile. “See you later.” She waved and watched the Second Division on the Shinsengumi walk away. She turned around and began walking the other way.

A few minutes after she started walking, she exited the marketplace and passed by the park, where a lot of kids were playing out on the playground. She chuckled as she watched some of them play for a while, before she started walking again. Before she could exit the place, however, she came face to face with two of the Shinsengumi’s top officers.

“Good morning, Kondou-san, Hijikata-san.” Shizuku bowed in respect for Kusahara’s bosses.

“Hey, Shizuku-chan! Just the girl I wanted to see.” the older male among the two officers greeted enthusiastically. “You wouldn’t mind telling us if you’ve seen your cousin around these parts?” he asked as he looked around.

“I met the Second Division down by the marketplace, Kondou-san.” Shizuku replied while gesturing behind her. “I think that they’re still there. Nori-san said that they were on patrol.”

“Is that so?” the Vice-Chief of the Shinsengumi said with a huff of smoke coming from his cigarette. “Well, thanks for your help.”

“May I ask, Hijikata-san, why are you looking for my cousin?” Shizuku asked while tilting her head to the side.

“Though it’s not new, we’re missing Sougo from his post, His Division said that he suddenly disappeared when they passed by the Second Division earlier and I think he’s going to ambush Kusahara again. Personally, I think those two need a punch on the head.” Hijikata answered with a low voice.

Shizuku hummed as she nodded, knowing well that ever since two months ago, it was clear for everyone that Kusahara and the Captain of the First Division don’t go well with each other, just like how Kagura doesn’t go well with Okita. The brunet always seemed to want to kill Kusahara, like how he wants to kill his Vice-Chief. The older, on the other hand, always seemed to want to get his hands around the younger male’s throat to strangle him – the reason, no one but Kusahara knows. Some of the officers in the Shinsengumi even found it entertaining to watch the two of them get on each other’s throats. Shizuku and Hijikata think otherwise. They both think that they’re just one of the many sources of their headaches.

“Ah, I see.” The young girl hummed before she bowed in front of the two Shinsengumi officers. “Well, I better get going. I’d rather not witness Okita-san fight with my cousin.” She said with a chuckle.

“Alright, then.” Kondou smiled as he and Hijikata passed by Shizuku. “It was nice bumping into you, Shizuku-chan!” he called before he continued walking. The young girl gave a little wave before she watched the two walk away.

Shizuku sighed as she watched the two officers walk away from her. “This is the first time that Nori-san became violent towards someone. I wonder why?” she said to herself before she continued to walk home.

“I wonder what I’m make for dinner tonight?” she thought as she tilted her umbrella back and looked up at the bright sky. “Ane-san is going to be at work while Shinpachi-kun is out in space.” She hummed to herself.

“It’s just me and Nori-san, then.” She said, walking forwards with a slight skip in her step. “That is, assuming that he doesn’t get reprimanded for fighting with Okita-san again. Honestly, I’m not going to be surprised if they do.”

Shizuku smiled to herself while unconsciously thumbing over her snowflake pendant as she walked down the sidewalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	9. Take a shot every time you read the word "underwear"

* * *

_VI_

_Manga: Lesson 28_

_Anime: Episode 18_

* * *

“ANE-ue, Shizuku-chan, I’m home!” Shinpachi called as he walked towards the main house with two plush toys in his hands. He had just come from a very exhausting trip to space. After meeting the people of the Kaientai and wrestling with his energy, the best thing he could find and buy – with Sakamoto’s help – were two stuffed ducks that looked oddly like something that he’d seen somewhere before.

“I’m sure they would love these.” The young boy said to himself as he smiled. “They both love cute things, and this looks kind of cute.” He smiled, before he called again.

“Shizuku-chan, Ane-ue?”

As soon as he opened the door to the house, someone leapt from under the tatami mats and launched at him with the sharp end of a halberd. On instinct, Shipachi yelled out, even though he immediately noticed that it was his sister that was rushing towards him.

“Die!” Tae yelled, pushing her weapon towards her brother’s head. Thankfully, Shinpachi ducked on time before the older could pierce his skull. Instead, the blade of the halberd went through one of the souvenir toys that Shinpachi went through the trouble to get for his sister and his friend.

“Wh – what are you doing, Ane-ue?!” Shinpachi shouted as he sat on the ground, his body visibly shaking from fear and shock. At the same time, Shizuku peered her head out from the side of the same room that Tae was hiding at.

“Welcome home, Shinpachi-kun.” The teal haired girl flashed her trademark smile, her eyes turning into thin crescents. She tilted her body to look at the young boy easier.

“Oh, it’s you, Shinpachi.” Tae glared at her brother as she pulled her halberd back with the stuffed toy still pierced at the end.

“Ah! Stefan!” the younger Shimura cried out loud. “There’s a hole in Stefan’s stomach!”

“Don’t come back at a time like this. It’s confusing.” Tae said lowly, grabbing the stuffed toy.

“D – don’t come back?!” Shinpachi cried. “How can you say that to your dearly beloved brother?!”

“We had a lot of trouble while you were away, alright?” the older girl glared as she started pulling on the stuffed toy in her hands. “Just thinking about it pisses me off!” the toy suddenly ripped in shreds as the stuffing inside Stefan suddenly spread out and dirtied the floor.

“No! Stefan!” Shinpachi yelled with a frightened look painting his face.

“Forgive you sister, Shinpachi-kun.” Shizuku said as she went out and kneeled beside the boy. “She’s a bit grumpy.”

“You call that a bit grumpy?!” the boy yelled, looking at the teal haired girl beside him.

“Well, to be fair, if you’re a girl, then you would feel the same way.” Shizuku smiled.

A chill ran up Shinpachi’s spine as she looked at Shizuku. The look on her face was very similar to her usual sweet smiles, but it was obvious that there was something underneath that Shinpachi would rather not know about.

“Unohana-taichou?!” he blurted before he could close his mouth, noticing the larger, even more ominous looking, smile on Shizuku’s face.

“We’ve got a lot to talk about, Shinpachi-kun.”

“Huh, an underwear thief?” Gintoki sat on his chair with a bored look on his face. The Yorozuya, along with Tae and Shizuku were currently out on Battle Royal Host for a meeting, when the white haired male heard about the two girls’ problem.

“That’s right.” Shinpachi nodded. “They both got hit during the time that the three of us were on the trip. Can’t we do something about it?” he raised his head to look at his coworkers. He wasn’t shocked when he saw Gintoki and Kagura eat on without actually paying attention to what the young boy was saying.

“Huh? Can’t we do anything about what?” Gintoki asked while staring at his parfait.

“The underwear thief, Gin-san, the underwear thief!” Shinpachi yelled, slamming his fists on the table, causing him to draw attention to himself.

Shizuku sighed beside Shinpachi as she looked at Gintoki, who was still eating his parfait. “Gin-san, can’t you do anything about it? Please?” she asked.

“Can’t your cousin do something?” the white haired male asked back as he ate through his ice cream. “I mean; he is part of the police. Can’t he catch him, or anything?”

“When I told him about it, he seethed and said that he’s do something, but they’re caught up in something at the moment, so I doubt that he’s going to come up with anything, anytime soon.” Shizuku answered with a sigh. “Though, I think they’re done, now.” She muttered to herself.

“Well, you can’t really make me do anything, either.” Gintoki replied, finishing his parfait. “But, just in case, what do you want us to do?”

“I want my fighting underwear back.” Tae said with her eyes darkened. “And I want the blood of the person who tainted Shizuku-chan’s mind.” She laughed ominously.

“You’re the one tainting her mind, Ane-ue.” Shinpachi muttered, thankfully, his sister didn’t hear what he said.

“That’s not what a civilized underwear-wearing person would say.” Gintoki said while putting sugar on his water before he started to stir it in with a long spoon. “This is coming from someone who’s running through a field naked and armed with a spear.”

Seeing how much sugar the older male was putting in his water, Shizuku’s eyes suddenly widened. “Gin-san!” She scolded. “That’s enough sugar!” she continued, but the older male ignored her and continued putting more. Shizuku suddenly stood and began wrestling the sugar out of Gintoki’ hands.

“An underwear thief is the enemy of all women!” Kagura suddenly said while finishing her food. “I’ll help, Ane-go, Shizu-nee.”

“Well said, my sister!” Tae smiled brightly as she stood with Kagura and began walking away with the two of them discussing on things that they would do.

“Wait, wait!” Shinpachi called from beside Shizuku, who was still wrestling with Gintoki in the background. “Someone will die! You two are way too dangerous!” he yelled, but ended up getting ignored.

“This is bad!” he said lowly. “The deadliest combatants in the world have joined forces.”

“Forget about it.” Gintoki suddenly said from his seat. “We already know who the culprit is, right?” he muttered while still struggling with Shizuku for the sugar.

“Huh? Who could it be?” Shinpachi asked, before his expression suddenly darkened.

“If you think it’s Kondou-san, I’m afraid that I’m going to have to side with him.” Shizuku said from her spot, pulling on the cup of sugar water from Gintoki’s hand. “I know that it’s not him, because I was also victimized. I doubt that he would also take my underwear. Nori-san would’ve burned him to the ground even if he’s his boss.” When she wasn’t looking, Gintoki grabbed a straw from the side of the table and began to sip from the cup.

“Gin-san!” the young girl yelled.

“Thank you, Shizuku-chan!”

Shizuku suddenly stilled at the sudden voice that called before she peered down the table. She wasn’t exactly shocked that Kondou was lying there on the floor, but out of all the places that he could have hid, he just had to hid under there. Shizuku resisted the urge to kick the older male on the head.

“Kondou-san, I think you need to get out from there before Shizuku-chan could stomp on you. I could read her thoughts.” Shinpachi glared at the older male. At the same time, Shizuku and Gintoki stood from their seats to crouch in front of the Shinsengumi chief – Shizuku kneeled because of her short kimono.

“There’s no way a samurai would do something so vile and low as stealing underwear!” Kondou yelled as he attempted to stand up causing him to hit his head on the underside of the table.

“There’s no way a samurai would stalk a teenage girl, either, Kondou-san.” Shizuku said in a monotone voice as she patted the gorilla’s head. “There, there, Gori-san, your head is just fine.”

“Thank you, Shizuku-chan.” Kondou purred slightly before he climbed out from under the table. “I may be a stalker, but I would never steal underwear! I’ll sue you, Yorozuya!”

“You’re the one who’s going to get sued!” Shinpachi raised his voice as his brows creased un the middle of his forehead.

“So, this is it for the Shinsengumi, eh?” Gintoki suddenly taunted. “What a joyous occasion this turned out to be, but before you put yourselves down on the mud, release Kusahara first, will you?”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Kondou raised his hand in front of him before pulling something out from under his blazer. “Look at this, look!” he said as he pulled out a newspaper and gave it to Shinpachi. He and the other two people with him stood as they read the contents.

“What’s this?” the bespectacled boy asked. “’Masked loincloth bandit strikes again.’”

“He’s the petty thief that’s been terrorizing the city recently.” Kondou said as he stood up from the floor. “As the name suggests, his costume is weird. He wraps a red loincloth around his face, and runs through the darkness in his underwear.” Shizuku frowned in thought.

“He’s only stealing pretty girls’ panties and tosses them to guys who can’t get dates. A weird sicko.”

“What’s that? Some perverted version of Robin Hood?” Shinpachi asked with a frown.

“I see.” Gintoki said from the side. “To that’s the story behind these panties. I thought it was a present from Santa-san.”

“Gin-san!” Shizuku yelled with a gasp, looking at the underwear that the older was holding in his hands. “There’s no way Santa-san would give out underwear as presents!”

“What? As if you’ve seen Santa, Shizuku!” Gintoki yelled back. “I treasure this! Santa is god.” The young girl beside him shook her head as she placed a small hand on top of Gintoki’s shoulder.

Kondou gave out a laugh from in front of them. “That means the thief thinks you’re a loser who can’t get girls.” He laughed out loud. “How pathetic!”

“Oi, Check out your own clothes!” Shinpachi said with a small growl. Shizuku wasn’t shocked to see something – underwear – popping out from Kondou’s uniform.

“Looks like Gin-san’s perverted Santa paid you a visit, too, Kondou-san.” She said with a pat on the older male’s shoulder.

“Thi – this isn’t a charity underwear from the Masked Loincloth!” the Shinsengumi chief yelled as he hid the evidence of him having women’s underwear in his clothes.

“That makes it worse, doesn’t it?” Shinpachi and Shizuku asked at the same time, both of them already giving up.

“So, you’re saying the same guy stole Shizuku’s and Otae’s underwear?” Gintoki said while bouncing the underwear he had in his hand. To prevent him from doing anything naughty to the small cloth, Shizuku reached out for the underwear even before Gintoki could pocket it again.

“Precisely!” Kondou yelled, pointing at them. “Every girl in Edo has been the victim of this panty thief. But, due to his public popularity, especially from nerdy men, the police are having a hard time capturing him.”

“So, the pervert thinks he’s a benevolent thief?” Shizuku asked as she smiled – smirked. “I won’t stand for it.” she chuckled as she ripped the underwear she was holding in half, a smile still painted on her face, but a dark aura surrounded her on all sides.

“Shizuku-chan….” Shinpachi called in a slightly higher voice than usual. “Your character’s getting messy.” He gulped.

“From now on, I’m going to lead the fourth squad. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and kill Zaraki.” Shizuku said with a smile as she walked away, leaving the three men with slightly agape mouths behind her.

“Okay, who’s going to tell her that she’s in the wrong anime?”

“When did they have the time to do this, exactly?” Kusahara whispered next to Shizuku’s ear as he looked at the banner in front of him. They were currently inside the dojo of the Shimura family and the banner raised up high in front of them said, “Tiki, tiki mission: Capture the Masked Loincloth!”

“Honestly, I’m not so sure.” Shizuku answered in a whisper as she slightly tipped her head up to get nearer to Kusahara’s ear. “I think it’s Ane-san’s idea. “I was shocked that she actually allowed the Shinsengumi officers inside the compound.”

“Yeah.” Kusahara nodded as he stood straight.

“The 35th Tiki, tiki mission: Capture the Masked Loincloth!” Gintoki suddenly said over the microphone, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Yeah!” Tae, Kaggura and the Shinsengumi officers that were present cheered together.

“The 35th?” Kusahara, Shizuku and Shinpachi asked at the same time, not joining the cheering people around them.

“Now, a word from the committee Chief Executive, Kondou Isao-san.” Gintoki said as he passed the microphone towards Kondou.

The older male cleared his throat and stood in front. “The Shinsengumi exists to keep peace in this city.” He said.

“What is peace?!” he yelled. “It’s the right to live safely, for the people to live in happiness!”

“You’re the one stalking a girl, gorilla.” Kusahara muttered under his breath. Shizuku resisted the urge to laugh as she placed a hand over her mouth.

“The small happiness of each person will create peace for the whole city.” Tae smiled at Kondou’s statement, making the older male blush. “Therefore, Shinpachi-kun, Kusahara-kun.” The two males tipped their heads to the side at the call of their names.

“Protecting your sister’s and your cousin’s underwear is also our mission!” Kondou said in a stern voice.

“Boy, when it comes to making stupid excuses, our Commander is the best.” Okita commented from beside Shizuku.

“Oi!” Kondou yelled in front of the Captain.

“Well, the Shinsengumi is here for revenge, so don’t worry, Kondou-san.” Okita turned to look behind him. “Right, Hijikata-san?”

Shizuku turned around and saw Hijikata kneeling quietly on the floor while holding on to his sword. The young girl immediately noticed that despite having his eyes closed, his guard was up. The young girl tilted her head to the side.

“Hijikata-san?” she called.

“That guy’s an idiot. He gave Hijikata-san charity underwear.” Okita explained as he pulled out something from under his uniform. Before he could show the underwear from under his clothes, Hijikata came dashing up and cut the cloth in shreds.

“No mercy.” He said with a low voice and piercing eyes.

Shizuku gave a sigh. “So he thinks that Hijikata-san can’t get a date, then?” she asked as she looked up at Kusahara.

“I’m not sure of the full details, but yeah, that’s about it.” he answered with a shrug. “That’s what I heard when I came to work this morning.”

“Are you sure you haven’t received anything, _Kuso_ hara-san?” Okita suddenly asked from beside Shizuku. The young girl didn’t miss the insult that the older male made on Kusahara’s name.

An irk mark appeared on Kusahara’s forehead. “Yes, _Aho_ kita-kun _,_ I checked.” He answered lowly, putting an emphasis on the insult that he used as he grinned ominously. He and the younger Captain suddenly faced each other and started a smirking and glaring contest.

Shizuku sighed. She knew that this was bound to happen. Putting the two captains in the same room would result to murder.

“Next time you fight, kindly don’t put me in between, alright?” she said as she placed her hands on the two bickering Captains’ chests and slightly pushed them apart with enough strength to convey the message. The two older males gave another smirk at each other before they turned and both walked away on opposite directions.

“Alright, down to business!” Gintoki suddenly said from the stage, earning everyone’s attention once again. “We’ve decided to use a decoy operation with the full cooperation of Shimura Otae-san.” Shizuku looked at the older girl as Tae walked on stage while pulling something out from her kimono.

“I’ll offer my lucky underwear.” The tall girl smiled brightly, waving her sparkling underwear in the air. “It’ll knock you out like Mickey Rourke’s Cat Punch.”

“Cat Punch!” Kondou exclaimed from the side before he was knocked back while having a nosebleed. Shizuku was immediately by his side, wiping away the blood on his face with a handkerchief.

“Hold on, Ane-san. That’s too hardcore!” she said to the older girl as Shizuku pulled on her sleeves in order not to not get blood on them.

“Yeah, normal boys can’t handle it. They’ll run their ass off.” Gintoki nodded in agreement. At the same time, Kondou was up on his feet again, thanking Shizuku as he stood straight.

Tae hummed. “Then, how about this?” she asked innocently as she pulled out a bear underwear from under her kimono. “It packs the same punch that knocked Akebono down.”

“Knocked….” Kondou whispered, before having another nose bleed and hitting the floor, face first.

“No, no, no, that’s too maniacal, Ane-san.” Shizuku shook her head while wiping blood away from Kondou’s face again.

“Guys, think a bit more about the brother who has to see his sister’s underwear over and over again, will you?” Shinpachi suddenly called. “It’s worse than watching a love scene on TV with your whole family.” He said.

“That’s how a boy climbs up the ladder to adulthood.” Kagura hummed from the side.

“You, there! Don’t summarize it so easily!” Shinpachi yelled. Kusahara had to hold him back to prevent him from launching towards the shorter girl.

“Watching your sister’s panties is nothing.” Okita said with a smirk on his face. “Hijikata-san saw his father wearing a bra.” Hijikata immediately gritted his teeth.

“I didn’t even meet the man, Sougo.” The Vice-Chief muttered under his breath, but it went unheard by everyone.

“I see.” Kusahara, Gintoki and Shizuku suddenly said at the same time, clapping their hands together. “It was so shocking that his pupils are still wide open to this day.” They said in unison.

“Like hell they are!” Hijikata yelled at all three of them before he started to run. “Come back here!” he yelled loudly, running after Shizuku, Okita, Kusahara and Gintoki.

Shizuku, despite being frail and delicate, was very agile and flexible. She dodged Hijikata’s hands easily.

Kusahara, who looked like a stick compared to most of the Shinsengumi officers, was very slick when he moved from side to side. Hijikata lost count of the times Kusahara escaped his clutches.

Gintoki was fast. He disappeared from Hijikata’s vision as soon as he got his eyes on him.

Okita was plainly annoying. He jumped everywhere, he ran everywhere, he even used the other people there as his shield. Hijikata soon got so annoyed that he just went for Okita and ignored the other three.

This went on for few minutes. At some point, most of the other people around took a seat, watching the free entertainment that they were getting.

Everyone suddenly ducked away from the sharp end of a Halberd.

“I’m risking my life and my underwear here!” Tae said lowly with dark eyes. “Stop messing around and get to work, you idiots! This chapter’s getting too long!”

“B – but, Ane-san.” Shizuku gulped. “The chapter where Nori-san and Okita-san fought was much l – longer than this.”

“That’s not the issue, Shizuku-chan.” Tae smiled sweetly. “But, if you and the others don’t start doing anything that will get our underwear back, I will not hesitate to stab all of you.” She raised her halberd beside her.

Shizuku and the others gulped.

“Ye – yes, ma’am.”

* * *

_ TELL US, SHIZAKURA-SENSEI!! _

Alright everyone, we have questions from Anonymous-san.

First!

Question: "Is this a reverse harem?"

Answer: Yes, probably. That is, unless the author decides to make actual pairings.

Next!

Question: "Will the Fem Oc end up with someone?"

Answer: The author is not sure, yet. She haven't thought about that deep into the future. When things get serious, she'll probably make a decision then.

Alright, that's the only time we've got, so see you all in the next chapter!

Remember, some of your questions will appear at the end of chapters just like this one, so ask away in the form provided in the notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thanks!


	10. I hope that you're not drunk, yet; Gintama is family friendly

* * *

_VII_

_Manga: Lesson 28_

_Anime: Episode 18_

* * *

SHIZUKU and Kusahara stood together with matching white headbands around their foreheads as they listened to Gintoki’s speech about the Masked Loincloth.

“Listen up! He is a genuine pervert who prefers quality over quantity when it comes to girls’ underwear.” The white haired male said while walking back and forth with his chest plate strapped around him, his hands holding his bokuto. “Therefore, he’ll definitely sneak in here again. And that’s when we capture him.”

“Not to be rude, or anything, but when did he become the leader?” Kusahara asked as he bent down next to Shizuku’s ear. “I thought it was Otae-san and Kondou-san were leading us?”

“I’m not sure.” Shizuku replied back as she pulled on her tasuki to tighten the knot. “Just let him start the chapter and get the page. Technically, he was the main character before we came along, so I think that it’s fine. Besides, he didn’t have much of an appearance since the first chapter.”

Kusahara hummed. “Good point.”

“I don’t care if he’s the Masked Loincloth, or the Masked underwear thief, we cannot forgive the way he tramples over girls’ innocence and a man’s pride.” Gintoki huffed as he knocked on Kusahara and Shizuku’s heads as he passed them by, clearly hearing what they were conversing about.

“All pumped up and ready to kick some ass, we’ll bring him down with a single blow! We’ll stain his white briefs red with his own blood!”

Everyone raised their weapons in the air and chorused a yell. They soon went to their own corners and began training.

“I think they’re getting a little overboard.” Shizuku commented as she watched everyone swing their weapons around. “They might actually cut the man in half.”

“I don’t even think that the Shinsengumi is needed for this.” Kusahara said from beside the young girl. “You have to admit, though, watching them is quite amusing.” Shizuku hummed in response.

“Well, I thought something like this would happen, so I brought these from the warehouse in the castle.” Okita’s voice suddenly came up from behind them. Shizuku, Kusahara and Shinpachi – who was standing next to them – turned around and saw the young, brunet Captain lay down a large bag from behind him. Shizuku’s and Kusahara’s eyes widened at the sight of what was inside the bag.

“What’s this, Okita-san?” Shinpachi asked as he bent down.

“How should I put it?” Okita hummed. “Something like…. Landmines?”

“’Something like’ my foot!” Kusahara yelled as he knocked on Okita’s head. “These _are_ landmines.”

“Well, these are better than _your_ landmines at the comfort room, _Kuso_ hara-san.” Okita retorted with a smirk. Kusahara poised himself to smack the younger again.

“Can have one on these?” Shizuku asked before another fight ensued. She kneeled beside the older brunet before she picked one landmine from the pile. “I want to place some under your feet to stop you two from fighting.”

“Shizuku!” Kusahara yelled, his face utterly betrayed. The young girl just looked at him with a smile.

“I had a hard time sneaking them out under strict supervision, so I don’t want any to be wasted.” Okita said while looking back to where Hijikata was standing. “So, no; I can’t let you have one.” Shizuku pouted a little before she stood up, dusting herself off.

“We’ll place these mines in the surrounding area.” The brunet Captain said as he stood from the ground. “This old dojo will become an invincible and secure fort in no time.”

“It can stay as an old dojo!” Shinpachi raised his voice. “It’s illegal! It’s totally against the Geneva Convention!”

“That’s that.” Okita said, his smile never leaving his face. “We have our own rules.”

“Don’t talk like some mom would!” Shinpachi yelled. “A landmine is a weapon of war!”

“And a weapon of war is something that I need to blow _Kuso_ hara san away from existence.” Okita smirked at the taller male beside him. “Maybe he could take Hiji _baka_ -san with him.”

“Like hell!” Kusahara yelled as he began chasing the shorter male around the backyard of the dojo. Shizuku sighed as she watched the two run around.

“Yamazaki! Place these landmines around the area!” Hijikata suddenly called the older officer. “And quit being annoying!”

“Yes, sir!” the badminton playing Shinsengumi officer replied right before he collapsed with the heavy armor that he was wearing.

“Okita-san, Nori-san, they’re already placing down the landmines, so be careful, alright?!” Shizuku raised her voice to make sure that the two officers heard her. Noticing that they were, in fact, not listening to her, she took matters into her own hands and went to block their path, right before she skillfully caught them both by the collars. With both males being significantly taller than her, Okita and Kusahara had to bend down as the young girl pulled on the front of their clothing.

“Stop fighting, for goodness’ sakes.” Shizuku scolded as she let them go and let them kneel in front of her. Surprisingly, they both obeyed and kneeled on the ground. “Both of you are old enough already.” She sighed. Both males said nothing as they turned to glare at each other.

“Wow, you got Sougo to become submissive. Teach me how to do it.” Hijikata commented as he came up beside Shizuku. Without warning, a bazooka suddenly fired towards his way and sending him stumbling back.

“Okita-san!” Shizuku yelled, knocking on the brunet’s head after she barely missed the missile that almost hit the Vice-Chief.

“Sougo, you bastard!” Hijikata yelled as he sat on his rear end.

“Sorry, Hijikata-san.” Okita said, not sounding apologetic at all. “I was aiming for Kusahara-san.”

“If that’s the case, I see that your eyes are not as sharp as they say are, Okita-kun.” Kusahara taunted, smirking at the younger male’s way.

Okita turned to him with a smug look on his face. “It’s good to have bad eyes because I don’t get to see that ugly face of yours.” The two males growled at each other as they reached for their swords.

“Excuse me, but I look like Shizuku and Shizuku is the most attractive person in this universe, idiot. You don’t have eyes, of you don’t see that.”

“Stop being a Kamado sibling and telling me how beautiful your cousin is. I’m not Yushirou, you now.”

A hand suddenly gripped the crown of their heads and began to squeeze the life out of them.

“If you want me to become a demon with a bamboo over my mouth, I will gladly do you if it meant that the two of you will stop fighting.”

The two males slowly looked up beside them and saw Shizuku smiling down at them with her eyes closed. A dark aura surrounded her as she tightened her grip on their head.

“Before I pull out all of your hair from your scalp, I suggest you both cool down, alright?” the young girl said before she gave one last squeeze and let go when the two males kneeling in front of her nodded.

Surprisingly, it was calm around the dojo until nighttime. Nothing happened and no one yelled at anyone. It was, rather, peaceful, really.

Shizuku hid behind the bushes at the backyard of the Shimura dojo with the rest of the people she was with earlier that day. They all stayed quiet as they watched their bait, waiting for someone, particularly some perverted Santa, to take it.

“There’s a mosquito.” Shizuku muttered as she watched the little flying pest land on Gintoki’s cheek. She took a while to look at it, before she slapped the white haired male’s face. A sharp snap rang in the air.

“Shizuku!” Gintoki yelled as he held his throbbing cheek.

“Mosquito.” Shizuku plainly said as she showed her hand to the older male. In the middle of her palm, laid the corpse of the mosquito that she had just squashed.

“Give a head start next time, will you?” Gintoki scolded before he flicked Shizuku on the forehead.

“When are we going to stop watching my sister’s underwear?” Shinpachi asked, sighing on his spot. “I don’t see any signs of the thief coming. Perhaps he won’t come at all. I mean, not only today, but never!”

“Don’t worry, he’ll come.” Gintoki reassured, his eyes not leaving the sight in front of him.

“What’s your reasoning for that?” Shinpachi asked, turning to face the older male. “It’s too obvious! You can tell that it’s a trap!”

“Shin-chan.” Tae called from beside the young boy. “The more difficult the task, the more encouraged the thief gets.”

“How the heck would you know?” the younger Shimura slightly raised his voice. “What if he’s a wussy thief?”

“I don’t care who the thief is. Let’s just grab someone and say that he’s the thief.” Okita said form behind them before he pointed at Kusahara’s direction. “I say we haul Kusahara-san in.”

“Why me?!” Kusahara yelled, before Shizuku placed her hand over his mouth to keep him quiet.

“Can we please stop yelling?” the teal haired girl asked as she looked around at the people present.

“If the thief hears us, it’ll ruin everything.” Gintoki nodded with a hum.

“What’s ruined is your brains!” Shinpachi yelled as an irk mark appeared on his forehead. “And it’s freaking hot, damn it!”

“What did you say, you bastard?!” an irk mark appeared on Gintoki’s face before he lunged at the younger male. “How about I ventilate your face?!” he yelled, grabbing Shinpachi’s collar and pushing him back, causing him to push back on his sister.

“Hey, don’t push me!” Tae yelled before she began pounding on Shinpachi’s head with the dull end of her weapon. Behind her, Shizuku and Kusahara had to move around to dodge the blade that was shooting at their direction, causing them to stumble against Hijijata and Okita.

“Oi, Shizuku, stop moving!” Hijikata yelled as Shizuku accidentally stepped on his foot. “Shizuku!”

“Sorry, Hijikata-san!” the teal aired girl called over her shoulder, still dodging Tae’s blade. She backed up and tripped on Kagura’s leg on the ground, making her fall back. Thankfully, Hijikata was there to break her fall.

“I’m sorry, Kagura-chan.” Shizuku said as she approached the younger girl. “Are you alright?”

“Oi, I just saved you ass! Pay attention to me, damn it!!” Hijikata yelled from behind them.

“You didn’t save mine, nicotine addict!” Kagura yelled as she lunged towards the tall male.

“Was I supposed to?! Shizuku came first!”

“Wait, Kagura-chan!” Shizuku called. “Hijikata-san, look out! She’s out for blood!”

“Get out of my way!” Okita growled, pushing Kusahara away from him. “ _Kuso_ hara-san!”

“ _You,_ get out of my way!” Kusahara growled back, trying to get away from Tae.

Soon, everyone became a jumbled mess on the floor as their raised voices echoed loudly around the compound.

“Now, now, stop fighting.” Kondou clapped his hands together as he sighed. “I think that you, guys, are just getting testy because of the heat. Alright, let’s take a break!” he said brightly while looking at everyone fighting.

“Shut up, mite beards!” Gintoki said.

“Shut up, ass hair!” Tae sneered.

“Shut up, pervert!” Shinpachi yelled.

“Shut up, Mr. Tangle!” Kagura growled.

“Shut up, old man!” Kusahara spat.

“Shut up, miso bread!” Hijikata huffed.

“Shut up, Gorilla.” Okita and Shizuku shouted at the same time.

Kondou suddenly turned as he cried. “It’s just the heat, right? That’s got to be it!” he whimpered dramatically.

“Oh, why don’t I get something cold?” he suggested, trying his best not to get affected by the harsh words that were directed towards him. “It’ll help calm everyone down.”

“Azuki bean ice cream!” Kagura yelled.

“Something sundae-like!” Gintoki spat.

“Haagen-Dazs ice cream!” Tae huffed.

“Seafood vinaigrette!” Okita said.

“Milk tea and ice cream!” Shizuku growled.

“Whipped cream plus melted chocolate for Shizuku!” Kusahara called.

“Beef bowl and tonjiru bento with a five-hundred ml bottle of mayonnaise on the side!” Hijikata shouted.

“G – green tea.” Shinpachi stuttered.

Already given up, Kondou sighed. “Alright, alright. I’ll get them, just chill out.” he said before he turned around and started walking.

With only a few steps forwards, something beeped from under his feet and something exploded, causing everyone to stop and look at where the explosion came from. A sword suddenly came flying towards them. Shizuku caught it in her hands even without moving from her spot.

“Oh, Kondou-san blew up!” Tae said with not much emotion.

“Well, it was hot, after all.” Kagura hummed.

“I guess that would blow you away.” Hijikata nodded.

“How could he have survived that?” Shizuku asked as she tilted her head to the side. “The Anime Sins guy would have a field day if he saw the Gintama anime.”

“This practically applies to all anime. Name one that actually follows the laws of the real world, Shizuku-chan.” Shinpachi said as he looked at the shorter girl beside him.

“Yeah, good point.”

“He stepped on his own landmine.” Gintoki suddenly said, his voice deadpanned. “He didn’t remember where he placed it, what an idiot!” everyone gave a snort before they began laughing.

Shizuku blinked.

“Wait a minute.” She said as she turned around. “Does anyone know where the other landmines are?”

Everyone suddenly stopped laughing.

“Oh, dear!” Tae gasped. “The mailman will get blown to smithereens tomorrow morning.”

“Now isn’t the time to say that!” Shinpachi yelled.

A low laugh suddenly sounded in the air, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Th – that man!” Shinpachi said as he pointed at the roof of the dojo, where a silhouette stood in front of the moonlight.

“Where there’s light, there is shadow. Where there’s men, there’s a baldie.” A low voice said. “Pulled by the elastic bands of underwear, tonight, I run the path of men’s dreams!”

“’Men’s dreams’ my ass!” Kusahara yelled.

“Stop cursing, Nori-san.”

“Don’t interrupt my opening scene! This is literally the only chapter that I will appear! Be more generous!” the man on the roof yelled back before he cleared his throat. “As I was saying, Masked Loincloth Bandit, at your service!” he said as he posed.

“Hysterical! You guys are priceless!” he laughed as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “It appears that you’ve prepared a warm welcoming for me, but it’s all in vain!”

“This sucks!” Shinpachi yelled, pulling on his hair. “He came at the worst possible moment!”

“Did you really think that I’d fall for such childish tricks?” The masked man asked, glaring down at everyone. “You’ve underestimated the Masked Loincloth, the greatest bandit! If you come up here, I’d fight you!” he gave off a laugh.

“You can bite your fingernails and watch as your underwear are handed over to the perverts, otakus, cherry boys and delusional horny S.O.B.’s!” he laughed loudly.

“Here I come!” the masked man suddenly jumped and began running down the roof, but he ended up getting blocked by the Shinsengumi officers on standby.

“It’s what you’d call, ‘taking extra measures’.” Okita said as he smirked.

The Shinsengumi officers stood on their ground as they watched the masked man turn and run, before Yamazaki got in the way and blocked his path.

“Zaki-san!” Shizuku called, seeing Yamazaki’s armor glitter under the moonlight.

Before Yamazaki had one step forwards, however, the cover of his headgear fell and blocked his sight, causing him to stumble and roll on the ground, taking the Shinsengumi officers down with him. As soon as they landed, another landmine exploded, sending their clothes and gear to heaven.

“What the hell did he show up for?!” Hijikata growled, as he clenched his fists. “Can you be more useful than just a random, regularly appearing character?!”

“Hijikata-san, don’t say it like that!”

The masked bandit started laughing again, amused at what he just witnessed. “Silly Shinsengumi!” he said while running down the roof again. As soon as he landed on the platform below him, something clicked and exploded.

“Who placed a landmine under the platform?!” Shizuku raised her voice as she gripped on Kondou’s sword.

“Don’t worry, it sent that guy off.” Kusahara said with a pat on Shizuku’s head. “It was meant for Okita-kun, but I guess it’s gone now.” he shrugged.

“It was you, then, huh?” Shizuku asked lowly with a glare before she growled. “Why don’t I send _you_ off?! You’re going to destroy the house!”

“That’s…!” everyone looked up at Kagura’s voice and saw Tae’s underwear flying down. Everyone gasped when they saw a hand from under the rubble suddenly appeared and caught it.

“Fools!” the masked bandit laughed as he stood from the ground. “You can’t beat me with something like this.” He said lowly.

“Perverts, otakus, cherry boys and delusional horny S.O.B.’s across the country await my return! Their voices give me power!”

A sword suddenly came his way with rapid speed and stuck itself on the floor, right under the middle of the masked bandit’s legs, causing him to scream and made everyone’s jaw drop.

“Wh – what was that for?!” the man asked loudly as he looked at who threw the blade at him.

“Opps, my hands slipped.” Shizuku smiled as she held on Kondou’s empty scabbard, seemingly unbothered by all of the eyes looking at er. “Had you been standing only an inch closer, you could’ve lost the ability to bear children.”

“Where did that come from?” Gintoki asked after he pushed his jaw back.

“This chapter’s getting too long again.” Shizuku said with a shrug. “We must finish it now. It’s already super boring to read. Kondou-san, it’s your turn!”

On cue, Kondou held on the masked man’s leg from e ground “Keep your filthy paws off of Otae-san’s underwear! I haven’t touched them yet, damn it!”

An empty scabbard came flying his way and hit him square on the head.

“My hands slipped again.” Shizuku chuckled, before her green eyes sharpened. “End the chapter, already!”

Tae suddenly came running towards the masked man and began yelling. “Never underestimate a woman!” she growled before jumping and hitting the masked man with her weapon, rendering him useless.

“There’s no way I’ll give my panties to someone who won’t even show his face.” the girl said, grabbing on her underwear. “If you really want it, approach me directly, naked from head to toe. I mean; with an open, naked heart.” She smiled and the masked bandit collapsed on the ground.

“Ane-ue!” Shinpachi yelled in glee as he and Kagura ran towards Tae. “You’re the best!”

Something beeped from under their feet and exploded.

It was quiet for a while.

“Hijikata-san, actually, I gave you the charity panties.”

“What?!”

“It was a joke! A joke!”

“Sougo, you bastard! Do you want to die?!”

Hijikata and Okita started to run around the compound, setting off all of the other landmines in the area without a care.

Shizuku sighed from her spot as she stood behind Kusahara and watched the series of explosions around the house. “I told them to finish the chapter already. Look what happened.” She said.

“Well, you have to agree, though, it’s fun watching everyone.” Kusahara said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, that’s true. Even if it’s a little boring to read this it’s like I’m watching the Anime all over again.” Shizuku answered with a smile on her face.

“Let’s just see how they will react when everything gets serious.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	11. Bright skies hide dark emotions

* * *

_VIII_

* * *

“ANE-san, I’m off to the Yorozuya!” Shizuku called from the front door as she put her slippers on and pulled her long black socks up.

“Have a safe trip!” Tae answered back while peering her head out from the side of the hallway.

“I will!” the younger girl smiled brightly before she went out the door and began walking under the sun with her blue umbrella open and protecting her from the sunrays.

It had been a while since the underwear incident that happened in the Shimura dojo. During that time, Shizuku had spent her time trying to fix everything that had been broken and that had been caught in the explosions that Okita and Hijikata set off around the area when they were chasing after each other. She tried her best, but really, the best she could do was to clean up and not actually fix anything. That was the Shinsengumi’s job – mainly their top officers, Kondou, Hijikata and Okita because Tae wanted to make them do all the work – Kondou was more than willing and almost volunteered to do everything by himself. Somewhere along the line, Kusahara got dragged in on it, as well – he grumbled about it, too. It wasn’t really a good idea since he and Okita had a bazooka fight in the middle of the house. It caused them both a trip down the toilet bowl, curtesy of Tae – and a little help from Shizuku.

The two captains made a pact that day; They promised not to get in each other’s throats when the two girls are with them.

It wasn’t surprising for anyone when the pact didn’t even last for the day.

The two captains ended up getting their heads shoved down the toilet for the second time.

“What a nice day.” Shizuku smiled brightly as she lifted her umbrella to look at the sun for a bit. When the heat started to sting her skin a little, she lowered her umbrella again. “I hope everyone’s at the Yorozuya today.” She said softly before she continued walking and soon, she was in front of the Yorozuya office building. She looked up at the signboard and smiled. From the outside, she could hear someone shouting something about having no food. Shizuku chuckled. It was a good thing she decided to bring a little snack from home for them.

“Oh, what brings a fine lady like you here?” an old husky voice asked softly from in front of Shizuku. The girl lowered her gaze from the Yorozuya signboard and saw an old lady wearing a black kimono standing by the door of the snack house directly under her trio friends’ office.

“Good morning.” Shizuku bowed while holding on to the handle of her umbrella, her other hand holding a plastic bag. “I’m friends with Gin-san and the others. I was just wondering if I could go visit them.” She said with a smile, her dark green eyes turning into slits.

“Ah, so you’re the new main character that the people of this anime were talking about?” the old lady asked as she pulled out a cigarette box from her pocket and pulled a stick out before lighting the end with a lighter. “Looking at you right now, you’re too young for Gintama. But then, Kagura’s younger than you. I have to say, you’re a lot better than that natural perm living upstairs. Fan service, I mean.”

“I’m sure that’s not true.” Shizuku chuckled – slightly ignoring the “fan service” part. “I could never be better than anyone in this series. I’m just an add-on. Gin-san still gives the name to the anime.” She said with a sheepish smile on her face.

The old lady laughed a little. “Well, I suppose you already know me, but I’ll introduce myself, anyways.” She said. “I’m Otose. I run the snack house behind me.”

“Nice to meet you.” The teal haired girl bowed. “I’m Kusahara Shizuku.”

“Kusahara?” Someone else asked, their voice accented and a bit low. Shizuku tilted her head to the side and saw a middle aged woman with cat ears come out from the snack house.

“Yes?” the young girl asked with slightly widened eyes.

“Someone with the name Kusahara came here often, right, Otose-san?” the woman with cat ears asked as she looked up at Otose. “He was wearing a Shinsengumi uniform. He looked like a new officer about a month ago or something.”

“Oh, that’s my cousin.” Shizuku smiled. “He must’ve been on patrol. He did say that he passes by the Yorozuya office often. That’s why I know where the office is.” She said.

The woman with cat ears hummed. “I say, you have quite a good looking cousin.” She said with a purr.

“Well, he is, rather good looking.” Shizuku answered. “He gets that a lot, but it looks like he doesn’t have the intention to settle down with a woman. Sorry.” She sheepishly said.

“Well, just tell him that if he looks for one, I’m available.” The woman winked at Shizuku’s direction. “I’m Catherine, by the way.”

“Nice to meet y-,”

A sudden bark from above interrupted their talk and made all three women look up. Shizuku grinned brightly when she saw Sadaharu panting on the balcony of the Yorozuya office while looking at her. The young girl waved at the large dog and was shocked when he leapt from the balcony and landed on top of Shizuku, causing her to crash on the ground.

“W – wait a minute! Sa – Sadaharu-kun!” Shizuku gaped when the dog landed on her and began licking her face. “Sa – Sadaharu-kun, I can’t breathe.” She chuckled as she wheezed.

“Sadaharu! Bad dog!” Kagura’s voice suddenly came from the balcony of the Yorozuya building, and as if of command, Sadaharu leapt away from Shizuku, but he still continued to lick her face. He always did like the young girl ever since he met her. The same goes for Shizuku.

“Are you alright, Shizuku-chan?” Shinpachi came pulling the teal haired girl up on her feet.

“I’m fine.” The slightly younger chuckled as she patted Sadaharu’s head. “You didn’t mean it, right?” the large dog barked happily as he waved his tail around.

“For goodness’ sakes, tame that dog!” Catherine yelled as she pointed at Sadaharu.

“He’s already tamed.” Gintoki’s voice came from above. “He’s just wild at heart.” He sighed before he started going down the stairs. “Speaking of Sadaharu, he needs a walk.”

“Oh, you’re right.” Kagura said before she looked at Shizuku. “Sorry, Shizu-nee, but you wouldn’t mind if we walk him together, right?”

“It’s alright.” Shizuku smiled as she lifted the bag of snacks that she was holding. “We can have a small picnic, too, if you want.”

“Perfect!” Shinpachi said from the side. “I’ll get the mat from upstairs!” he said before he disappeared towards the office. He came out a minute later with a neatly folded mat on his hands.

“We’ll be going then, Otose-san, Catherine-san.” The teal haired girl bowed a little in front of the two women.

“Have a safe trip.” Otose said brightly as she watched the four Yorozuya go with Shizuku beside them. She and Catherine watched their backs until they disappeared from their sight.

There was silence for a while.

“Is it only me, or is there something wrong with that girl?” Otose suddenly voiced out when she was sure that no one was going to hear them.

“That’s girl’s too…. I don’t know…. she’s not fit for Gintama.” Catherine commented from beside Otose. “Why is she even the main character?”

“I agree. She doesn’t play around like the normal characters in the series. Her cousin takes the cake for being the character more suited for this anime. He shouts, runs around with swords, and plays with explosives.” Otose sighed heavily. “Her, on the other hand, we just met her, yet she has already showed how unfitting she is for this series.” She looked at the direction where the Yorozuya went.

“I don’t like it. Not anyone could be that formal and that nice. She’s too…. mellow? Is that even the right word for it?” She said with a slight frown on her face. “I wonder what has happened to her life before she met those four?”

Catherine hummed, being uncharacteristically serious. “Something really unpleasant, probably.” She said lowly before disappearing inside the snack house.

“Otose-san, the register’s empty.”

“Pull out your clothes, Catherine. I can hear the coins jiggling from under your sleeves.”

“Are you tired, Shizu-nee?” Kagura asked as she eyed the older girl walking beside her with worried eyes. Shizuku looked a lot weaker than she usually looked.

“That thought is just mean, Kagura-chan. I can read your thoughts.” Shinpachi whispered from beside the small girl. “It’s not nice to call people weak.”

“But, it’s true.” Kagura whispered back at the older boy. “Just look at her.”

It was true that Shizuku looked like she was slowly starting to get under the weather. The way she wearing a smile on her face as she walked looked like she was doing fine, but the vice grip that she had on the handle of her umbrella told Kagura and Shinpachi otherwise. Her green eyes were also stating to lose color – they were getting duller and duller by the minute. Honestly, the two teens were getting majorly worried for their friend.

“Oi.” At the sudden call, both Kagura and Shinpachi looked behind them and saw Gintoki pull Shizuku back by the arm.

“Gin-san?” the young girl asked in a weak voice as she looked up at the tall male. Her olive eyes widened a bit when Gintoki placed her hand on her forehead, placing the other hand on his own.

“You’re heating up.” the white haired male frowned as he dropped both his hands. “You need the shade.” He said while he looked around the area.

“We’re at the park, Gin-san.” Shinpachi said from the side. “We can rest at the bench.” He pointed at a nearby chair with no people sitting down on it.

“No.” Gintoki shook his head. “Look for a large tree or something. Just somewhere with a shade.” He said before he looked around again, completely ignoring Kagura and Shinpachi’s questioning faces.

“Over there.” their leader suddenly pointed at a far off tree at the corner of the park. He turned to face Shizuku, who was weakly looking at the same spot that Gintoki pointed at.

“I’m fine with sitting on the bench, Gin-san.” The teal haired girl said as she attempted to convince the taller male with a smile on her face.

“I have my umbre-, wha – Gin-san?!” she slightly squealed when the white haired male suddenly lifted her up by the hips and placed her on Sadaharu’s back, who seemed to have noticed the situation and was already crouching down on the ground.

“Gin-s-,”

“Don’t argue with me.” Gintoki said to Shizuku with a sharper tone than how he usually talks. “You know that you can’t stay outside for prolonged periods of time. You need the shade.” He said – more like commanded. Kagura and Shinpachi were shocked when they saw Shizuku sigh and let Sadaharu and Gintoki lead her towards the tree that the latter had pointed at only a minute earlier.

“What just happened?” Shinpachi asked, for the first time in a long time, not knowing anything.

“I’m not so sure.” Kagura answered with her head tilted to the side.

“Oi, hurry up!” Gintoki called from in front of them. “I’m hungry!”

“Coming!” Shinpachi and Kagura answered at the same time as they ran to catch up with the white haired male. Soon, they were under the large tree at the end of the park. Gintoki helped Shizuku climb down from Sadaharu’s back and let her settle by the base of the tree with her back against the bark.

“I’m fine, everyone, really.” Shizuku smiled as she placed her closed umbrella next to her. Kagura and Shinpachi were by her side as soon as she settled down. Even Sadaharu was worriedly nuzzling his nose against the teal haired girl’s leg. “I’m sorry for worrying you.” The young girl said with an apologetic smile.

“I’ll get water from the vending machine.” Gintoki said before he stood up and walked towards the vending machine that was quite a distance away from their location.

“Are you sure that you’re alright outside, Shizuku-chan?” Shinpachi asked worriedly, eying the pale girl’s skin. He frowned when he realized that she looked whiter than usual – if that was even possible.

“It’s just hotter than usual.” Shizuku answered. “You, guys, know that I’m not really good under the sun. That’s why I can’t stand the beach and prefer the winter season.”

“Is it… a sickness… or something?” Kagura asked with a worried expression on her face.

“I’m not actually sure.” The slightly older girl hummed. “I’ve always been like this ever since I could remember. It just got a little worse when I got older. It’s nothing serious; I just get tired often. I’m already used to it.”

“But, you look like you’re already going to collapse at any moment.” Shinpachi frowned. “Does Kusahara-san know about this?”

“Of course he does.” The teal haired girl nodded. “At times like this, he lets me rest under a shade, just like how we are doing right now. After that, I’ll be back to my usual self.”

“When, exactly, did this start, Shizuku-chan?” Shinpachi asked.

The slightly younger looked up at the sky for a moment, trying to think, before she spoke. “I think it was when I was two or three, or something, but I don’t remember in detail since I was so young. It got a little worse when I turned nine or ten.” She hummed. “How I got it, though, I’m really sure.”

“It must be hard.” Shinpachi said with a little pity in his voice.

“Here.” Gintoki suddenly came from behind the three teens with a water bottle in his hands. “I better see you drink every last drop of that.” he said with a slight glare before he sat down next to Sadaharu and took the bag that was hanging from his back.

“What’s the food?” he asked before pulling out food from the bag that Shizuku brought with her. He immediately sat back on the grass and crossed his legs.

“It’s sugar cookies, Gin-san.” Shizuku said with a smile after drinking from her water bottle. “I would’ve brought ice cream or everyone, but I knew that they would melt even before I got your place.”

Gintoki hummed before he gave one large cookie to Kagura. The younger girl took a bite and immediately squealed right after. “This is so good!” she cried before she took another one from the pile that Shinpachi fixed on top of the mat that he had brought along.

“You should really become a cook or something, Shizuku-chan.” Shinpachi nodded after taking his own cookie. “Your food and your baking is so good that if you were to make a restaurant, it would become a five-stared one.”

Shizuku sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, I did have a lot of experience when I was young. No one was there to cook for us, so I learned how to operate the stove at a very young age. I took care of a lot of people, so I’m used to doing these things.”

“Then, does that mean Kusahara-san didn’t cook food as good as he does right now?” Shinpachi asked. “I mean, the two of you are both good.”

“You could say that, yeah.” Shizuku chuckled. “We travelled a lot, and because of my condition, there were times that I slept for days. Nori-san was the one who’s doing everything, so he learned on his own. There was even a time when he almost set the kitchen on fire for boiling water, but he doesn’t do that now.” She laughed before she looked over to where Gintoki was sitting and saw him staring at the cookie in between his fingers.

“Gin-san, is there something wrong with the cookie?” the young girl tilted her head to the side.

“No.” Gintoki shook his head before he popped the sweet delicacy on his mouth. “They’re fine. For sugar cookies, though, they lack sugar.”

“That’s just your diabetes talking, Gin-san.” Shinpachi and Shizuku said at the same time, before they both chuckled. A few minutes passed with them not doing anything. They just sat there, enjoying the silence – which was ironic for an anime like Gintama.

“It’s a nice day.” Shizuku sighed as she leaned back on the bark of the tree. Beside her, Kagura joined in and leaned her head on the older girl’s shoulder. On the other side, Shinpachi also leaned back and rested his head on the tree bark.

“This is nice.” The teal haired girl said, closing her eyes. Shinpachi and Kagura did the same thing and closed their eyes. Soon, all three of their breathing became even and their facial features softened. By their feet, Sadaharu began curling against himself and started to take a nap. A few minutes later, his breathing also evened, leaving the oldest among them to watch them all sleep.

Gintoki looked at the four sleeping beside him and sighed before he took another cookie from the pile in the middle of the mat.

“I know that you cooked, Shizuku, but I never knew that you baked things.” he said in a soft voice before he looked up at the sky.

“It’s been a long time, huh?” he said to the bright blue sky.

“It would be nice if you cooked for us again.”

He unconsciously closed his fists and squeezed hard.

“Just like you used to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	12. Let's take care of idiots

* * *

_IX_

_Manga: Lesson 29-31_

__Anime: Episode 20_ _

* * *

SHIZUKU looked up at the bright, starry sky.

Only her and Shinpachi occupied the Shimura household at the moment, since Otae was out on her job as a hostess and because Kusahara had been invited to the Shinsengumi headquarters for a drink. The teal haired male didn’t want to go at first since he really couldn’t hold his alcohol that well, but Shizuku insisted that he should go, telling him that he needed some time to bond with other officers in the Shinsengumi because he was the only one among them that wasn’t living in the barracks – save for those who has their own families to go home to. After a few more minutes of talking, Kusahara just gave in and went to stay at the headquarters for two nights while Shinpachi and Shizuku manned the Shimura household when Otae wasn’t around.

“Shizuku-chan, the bath is ready!” The unmistakable sound of Shinpachi’s voice suddenly came from inside the main house.

“Coming!” Shizuku called back as she stood up from her spot on the porch at the back of the dojo.

“It’s a nice night, I wonder how Nori-san and the others are doing?” she said to herself before she faced forwards and began walking towards the main house of the compound.

“It was a very hot night with many mosquitoes, like tonight. I was setting off fireworks with my friends and noticed it had gotten dark.”

Kusahara sat by Kondou and Yamazaki as they listened to the story that one of their fellow officers were telling. He has been sitting in the same position for so long that his legs were starting to get numb.

“Is this how you always do at your drinking nights, Kondou-san?” The teal haired male asked Kondou in a whisper.

“Yeah, but sometimes, we play games, too.” the Chief nodded while keeping his attention turned towards the storyteller. Kusahara sighed, before he swatted a mosquito that went his way and leaned back, listening to the story, as well.

“So, I thought my mom would get upset and kick me if I didn’t get home right away. I decided to go home.” The story teller said, keeping his face over a flashlight to get a scary effect. “We cleaned up the exploded fireworks and glanced at the Temple School. Then, although it was midnight, a woman in a red kimono was looking right at me from the window of the Temple School. I was shocked, but I wanted to find out more.”

Kusahara swatted another mosquito from beside his ear. “Why are there so many mosquitoes?” he asked himself inside his head, before he turned to continue listening.

“I gingerly asked her what she was doing up this late.” The storyteller said with a smirk on his face. “And she…. smiled at me and said….”

“We’ve run out of mayonnaise!”

The Shinsengumi officers suddenly shrieked at the voice that came from behind them. The lights suddenly went on and everyone sighed when they saw who interrupted their storytelling. Kusahara, knowing that it was Hijikata that was behind them didn’t get shocked like the others. He just looked back with a bored look on his face.

“Oh, so that’s where you were, Hijikata-san?” he asked the older male as he fixed his position on the floor. “I was looking for you an hour ago.”

“Fukuchou! What the heck?! You ruined the ending!” One of the officers at the back said with a sneer at the tall male by the door.

“I don’t care about that! The mayonnaise ran out! I told you to buy more.” Hijikata glared at everyone in the room. “Yakisoba’s no good without it!”

Kusahara internally gagged at the sight of the dish with a heap of mayonnaise on Hijikata’s hand. “You’ve had enough, already, Fukushou.” He said calmly before he stood up. Only then, did he realize that Kondou was out cold beside him.

“Kondou-san?” the tall teal haired male asked as he slightly nudged his Chief with his foot. The older remained unresponsive as the other officers looked at him.

“Kyoukchou!!” the officers yelled.

“Wow, he got beat by mayonnaise.” Kusahara blinked before he sighed and walked towards where Hijikata was standing. “Is it alright if I join you for a bit, Hijikata-san?”

“Sure, come on.” The Shinsengumi Vice-Chief nodded.

“That’s so stupid!” Hijikata growled to himself as he and Kusahara stepped out of the room. “They’re all obsessed with ghost stories.”

“So, I guess that you don’t join their drinking parties that much, huh?” Kusahara asked as he and Hijikata entered the spare room at the end of the hall. “I noticed that Okita-kun is also not there.” he said, lighting a small lamp next to the table of the room.

“Yeah, we usually don’t join.” The older male answered with a hum from beside Kusahara. “We’ve got our own things to do, anyways. Though, I don’t know what Sougo does for most of the time. He usually disappears before any of us sees where he goes.” Both males sat on opposite ends of the table before Hijikata started eating his yakisoba.

“So, what do you think of your first drinking night with the Shinsengumi?” Hijikata asked a few seconds after he swallowed a heap of food.

“It was nice.” Kusahara shrugged. “Well, I can’t really hold my alcohol that much since I’m living with Shizuku. You know, with her being a minor, and all. I can’t really drink around her.”

Hijikata chuckled. “I wish I could say the same thing to Sougo.” He sighed. “Technically, he’s still a minor, too, but he drinks way more sake than me.” he said after finishing his food.

“Well, kids will be kids, I guess.” Kusahara answered while swatting away a mosquito that was trying to get to his neck.

“There are so many mosquitoes these days.” He said to Hijikata, who was also swatting away at another mosquito.

“Tell me about it.” the older male replied while lighting his cigarette. They basked in a comfortable silence right after that.

“Die…”

Hijikata and Kusahara suddenly stilled. They looked up at each other with slightly widened eyes, both of them wondering if they were hearing the same things.

“Die…. Die…. Hijikata…. Kusahara….”

“Oi, are you hearing that?” Hijikata asked as the grip he had on his cigarette fell, causing the lighted stick to fall on the table, extinguishing itself in the process.

“I’m not the only one, right?” Kusahara asked back with his voice slightly shaking.

“Please, die…. Hijikata…. Kusahara….”

Both Kusahara and Hijikata nervously stood up before they both walked towards the door and pulled both sides open at the same time.

An irk mark appeared on Kusahara’s head when he saw Okita standing outside wearing white clothes and candles on his head.

“What are you doing?” the teal haired male asked with a darkened expression on his face, trying to hide the fact that he was a little scared for nothing.

“Jo – jogging.” Okita answered while keeping his hands on his back and avoiding the gazes of the two older males.

“Don’t lie to us!” Hijikata and Kusahara yelled at the same time as they stepped outside of the room.

“If you ran around in that kind of outfit, your head would catch on fire!” the older of the two growled.

“Were you holding a ritual?!” Kusahara raised his voice. “You were holding a ritual for killing us! You were, weren’t you?!” he gritted his teeth before he stepped forwards and blew off the candles on the young brunet’s head.

Okita sighed. “You both are really self-conscious.” He said with a bored tone on his voice. “If you think like that, you’ll suffer a nervous breakdown.”

“What was that?!”

Hijikata’s eyes suddenly widened as he sharply looked at the roof of the next building.

A pair of dark eyes stared back at him.

He blinked and the dark eyes were gone.

“O – oi.” He stuttered, earning the attention of the two males with him.

“What’s the matter with you, Hijikata-san?” Okita asked as he blinked, noticing the abrupt change in the older male’s aura.

“Sougo, Kusahara, did you just see something over there?” The Vice-Chief asked the two younger males.

“Nothing, really.” The youngest among them replied with an unsure tone in his voice

“Did you see someone, Hijikata-san?” Kusahara asked as he looked at the same spot that the older was looking at. “I see no one there.”

Hijikata gulped.

He didn’t sleep much that night.

“Excuse me.” Shizuku said in a shy voice as she looked up at the officer standing outside of the Shinsengumi headquarters’ gates.

“Yes, young lady?” the officer asked with a small smile on his face. “Oh, Shizuku-chan, hey. What brings you here?” he beamed when he realized who was there.

“I’m here to bring something in for Nori-san.” Shizuku answered while pulling up the small bag of clothes in his hands.

“Ah, he did say that you’d come. You’re here to bring him spare clothing, right?” the officer said while Shizuku nodded with a smile.

“Well, I’m not sure where, exactly, in the headquarters he is, but I think you might want to go to the West Wing of the compound. You might find him there.” the officer said while pointing at the direction of the West Wing. “The Chief might be roaming around the area, too, so you can ask him if you see him.”

“Thank you very much.” Shizuku bowed before she walked inside the compound and into the West Wing. While walking at the side of the building, from that distance, she saw an open door and peered inside in the room. She gasped when she saw a lot of people lying side by side on their backs, all of them under a futon. He recognized most of them and she knew that they are Kusahara’s coworkers. Her small voice caught the attention of the four uniformed Shinsengumi officers that were talking to each other inside the room, causing all four of them to look behind them.

“Oh, Shizuku, hey.” Kusahara greeted as he walked towards the entrance of the room.

“Nori-san, what happened?” Shizuku asked before she pointed at the bedridden officers.

“Honestly, we’re not sure.” The older answered with a sigh as both of them looked inside. “We all got up at the same time and suddenly, a little less than two divisions couldn’t even find the strength to stand up on their own anymore.” He explained.

“Shizuku-chan, what are you doing here?” Kondou asked as he stepped outside of the room.

“Good morning, Kondou-san.” Shizuku bowed slightly. “I’m just here to give Nori-san a change of clothes.”

“Ah, I see.” The Shinsengumi Chief nodded. “Sorry you had to see these poor officers like this.” He said with pity on his voice.

“It’s alright, Kondou-san.” The young girl answered with small smile.

“Oh, younger Kusahara.” Okita suddenly came calling from behind Kondou. Beside him, Hijikata stood with an unlighted cigarette in between his lips.

“Good morning, Hijikata-san, Okita-san.” Shizuku bowed slightly. “It’s nice to see you all up and well.”

“Yeah, unlike these guys.” Hijikata gestured to the people sleeping behind him. “We don’t even have people here to take care of them. Most of us got a mission downtown and they’re out of the Station.”

“I agree.” Kondou hummed. “And we still have work to do.”

“I kind of feel bad for them.” Shizuku said softly as she looked at the bedridden officers. There was a bit of silence between the five of them before Shizuku thought of an idea.

“I could look after them, if you want.”

The other officers looked at the young girl with their eyebrows raised.

“Really?” Hijikata asked, his eyes slightly widened.

“Yep.” Shizuku smiled. “I may not look like it, but I’ve looked after a lot of people when I was younger. Looking after eighteen people is nothing.”

“Is this true, Kusahara-kun?” Kondou asked as he looked at the teal haired male standing next to him.

“Yeah, but are you sure you want to look after them?” Kusahara asked the younger girl in front of him. “Their condition is kind of eerie, just to let you know. We don’t know why they collapsed in the first place.”

“I’m sure that it’s nothing.” Shizuku chuckled. “Besides, you said that you’re a little shorthanded at the moment. Since I’m already here, it’s alright if I stay until at least half of them are up and running again.”

Kusahara sighed, before he looked at his senior officers. “Well, there you have it.” he said with a sheepish chuckle. “She’s actually good at taking care of the sick.”

“Alright, then. If it’s not a bother, we’ll leave these officers to you, Shizuku-chan.” Kondou said with a pat on Shizuku’s head. “But if you get sick, too, then we’re going to take over, alright?” the girl gave a nod of confirmation.

Shizuku started on her work right after she tied her hair up with a ribbon and was brought a tasuki to hold up the sleeves of her kimono with. She began wiping the heads of the bedridden officers with a damp cloth and removing any dirt on their exposed skins. Some of them attempted to converse with her with their weak voices as she worked, lifting the mood while providing company for her. Some of them wanted to help her, but since they didn’t have any energy at all, they gave up on getting out of bed and just talked to her.

Kusahara and Kondou checked up on her often when they had a small break from filing paperwork and reports – at some point, Kusahara went out of the Station for an investigation. Hijikata and Okita came too – even though they didn’t physically show themselves in front of Shizuku, she could feel their presence behind her when she walks out of the room to go to the laundry room to wash the damp cloths that she used to wipe officers’ skins with.

“Okita-san, Hijikata-san, how’s work?” Shizuku asked out loud when she was out back, hanging the cloths that she had just washed. She had been there for more than half a day, now.

“How did you know that we were here?” Hijikata asked as he and Okita stepped out from the room that they were using to check up on what Shizuku was doing.

“Well, it’s silent around the compound, so I could hear some footsteps here and there.” Shizuku smiled as she looked back, looking at the two officers behind her. “I just assumed that it was the two of you.”

“You’ve got quite a sharp set of instincts, younger Kusahara.” Okita commented as he walked towards Shizuku, who answered with a sheepish smile.

“Let’s just say that I’ve watched a lot of people when I was young, Okita-san.” The young girl said before putting up the last of the washed cloths on the line. “I was alone, for most of the time, so my senses were amplified to keep me from being lonely. The sounds of nature are nice to listen to, when you get used to it.”

“Oh, so your cousin left you a lot of times, then?” Hijikata asked. “I mean, that would make sense since he would’ve gone to work.”

“You could say that.” Shizuku chuckled, picking up the basket she used to carry the cloths with. “Well, I’ll go back to work, now. You should, too.” She said before she started walking back to the laundry room.

“Wait, are you almost done?” Hijikata asked, making Shizuku pause on her steps.

“Yes, actually.” The young girl looked over her shoulder and gave a smile. “Why do you ask?”

“We’re also almost done with some of our work. I think it’s time that you report to us what you’ve observed with the patients.”

“Alright, then.” Shizuku gave a small hum. “I saw some leaves in the kitchen. Would you like me to make tea?”

“I’ll have some.” Okita said in monotone as he raised his hand in the air.

“Alright. I’ll bring teapot.” Shizuku chuckled for a bit before she walked towards the back building of the compound.

Hijikata turned towards the younger male next to him. “I thought that you don’t drink tea that much?”

“That’s because we literally don’t have tea in the kitchen, Hijikata-san. We only get a box when I tell Yamazaki to get some.” Okita answered, while going to the meeting room that they frequented in. Hijikata followed behind him while finishing his cigarette. They entered the room together and waited. A few minutes later, Kondou and Kusahara came.

“Oh, Sougo, Toushi.” Kondou greeted as he sat on the back porch of the room.

“Are you done with your work, _Kuso_ hara-san?” Okita sneered up at the teal haired male when he entered the room.

“Yes, _Aho_ kita-kun _._ ” Kusahara answered with a smile. “I just came back.”

“Seriously, the two of you are still fighting?” Shizuku suddenly came up from behind them with her hair down and her tasuki tied up on one of her arms. “I wouldn’t be surprised if someone actually managed to slice off the other’s head.” She laid down a tray with a teapot and cups on the table and offered to pour some for Okita.

“So, what did you find, Shizuku?” Kusahara asked as he sat down next to the teal haired girl, who just finished pouring tea for the brunet beside her.

“Well, some of them didn’t look half as bad as the others.” Shizuku reported. “Some of them even tried to get out of bed.”

“Did you find out what caused it?” Kusahara asked while looking down at the younger girl.

“No.” Shizuku shook her head. “They all have mild fevers, but they’re not sick. It’s like something drained their energy.”

“When do you think they’ll be up again?” Hijikata asked.

“In about a couple of days, or so.” Shizuku answered. “Everybody was making delirious sounds about a woman in a red kimono, too.”

“Could it be the same ghost Inayama-san was talking about the other night?” Okita asked before taking a sip on his tea.

“A ghost?” Shizuku tilted her head to the side.

“We were telling stories to each other the other night.” Kusahara explained before he watched the girl nod in understanding.

“Idiot! There’s no such thing as ghosts.” Hijikata said with a glare directed at Okita from the other end of the table.

“Don’t underestimate ghosts, or you’ll be in real trouble, Toushi.” Kondou commented from the porch. “This building is cursed. It must be possessed by a horrible spirit.”

“What are you talking about?” Hijikata growled before remembering the image that he saw on the rooftop of the building the other night.

“No, never.” He muttered.

“Well, I’ve got to go check up on them again.” Shizuku said as she stood up. “I’ll be in the medical bay if you need me.” she excused herself and went out, proceeding to walk towards the West Wing.

In the middle of walking, Shizuku frowned to herself, trying to figure out what she was missing. “I wonder if…...?” She asked to herself while she kept on walking. “No, that can’t be it.” she said and dropped the thought.

Back at the meeting room, Yamazaki arrived with other people trailing after him,

“Kyoukchou, here they are.” Kusahara’s head perked up at the sound of Yamazaki’s voice from outside of the rom they were in.

“Oh, thanks, Yamazaki.” Kondou answered while looking at the direction where the dark haired male was coming from.

“I found these exorcists downtown.” Yamazaki said while gesturing to the three people that were walking behind him. Kusahara, Hijikata and Okita stood from their seats to look at the people that Yamazaki had brought with him. Kusahara frowned at the sight, noticing something familiar with the three. He didn’t say anything, though.

“Hello.” The tallest one of the three people with Yamazaki greeted in a low voice.

“Who are these guys? Is the circus in town?” Hijikata asked from beside Kusahara. Behind them, Okita tilted his head to the side.

“No, they’re here for an exorcising.” Kondou said from in front of the three officers.

“O, oi, are you kidding?” the Vice-Chief asked with a frown on his face. “These guys look so shady.” He growled.

“Oh? Your back….” The shortest from the exorcists said with a light voice.

“What? There’s something on my back?” Hijikata looked behind him and saw Kusahara standing there. The teal haired male shrugged, not knowing what the short exorcist was seeing.

In front of them, two of the exorcists started whispering to each other. Kusahara couldn’t quite hear what they were talking about. Hijikata on the other hand, heard something along the lines of “He’s done for with that on him.”

“What are they doing?” An irk mark appeared on the dark haired male’s forehead. “Can I stab these jokers? Huh, can I?!” he grabbed hold on the hilt of his sword and threatened to pull it out.

“Sensei, can you help us?” Kondou sighed as he stood up. “I’m too scared to go to the bathroom by myself.”

Kusahara’s jaw dropped slightly while looked at his superior. “Seriously?” he asked in a whisper.

“We’ll take care of it, Gorilla.” The female exorcist said with a smile while she stood in front of the four Shinsengumi officers.

“Huh? Did you just say ‘Gorilla’?” Kondou asked with a frown. “You just said ‘Gorilla’, right?”

“We’ll need to look around the place for a bit, is that alright?” The tallest of the exorcists said.

The Shinsengumi officers sighed and began leading the trio around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, I'm following the order of the manga so don't be surprised if I skip a few episodes.
> 
> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	13. Can conveyor belts really kill?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyy!
> 
> Because the movie is released today, here's an update!
> 
> Also, a couple of you requested for more Okita and Shizuku moments, so here it is!
> 
> You can request for more through the form at the end notes and I'll incorporate them here.

* * *

_X_

_Manga: Lesson 29-31_

_Anime: Episode 20_

* * *

“THANK you for showing us around.” The tallest among the exorcist said as they sat in front of the four Shinsengumi officers inside the room. Outside, on the patio, Shizuku and Yamazaki sat together, both on their knees as they listened quietly.

“I feel a fairly powerful spirit presence, Gorilla.” The tallest exorcist said.

Shizuku tilted her head to the side. “Did he just say ‘Gorilla’?” she muttered to herself, ignoring the familiar feeling in her gut.

“For starters, why don’t we do an exorcism?” the shortest from the trio asked. “This is going to cost you a pretty penny, Gorilla.”

“’Gorilla’?” Shizuku frowned. “Hold on, isn’t that….” she paused.

“Gorilla?”

“Oi, oi, they’re getting in the habit of saying ‘Gorilla’.” Hijikata frowned deeply. “Even Shizuku’s saying it.”

“By the way, what kind of spirit is here, Gorilla?” Okita asked with a slightly bored tone.

“It’s contagious!” Kusahara’s eyes widened as he turned to the brunet beside him.

“It’s… a factory foreman.” The short female exorcist said with a hum before the tall exorcist beside her punched her on the head.

“Ouch.” Shizuku hissed to herself. “That must hurt.”

“Well, it’s the spirit of a factory foreman, who died after getting stuck in a conveyor belt.” The tall exorcist said.

“Excuse me, but everyone said that they saw a woman’s spirit.” Shizuku informed in a slightly shy voice from outside of the room.

“Oh, right.” The exorcist in green clothing said with a nod. “It’s the spirit of a woman who looked like the factory foreman who killed herself by getting stuck in a conveyor belt.”

“That explanation’s too long!” Hijikata’s voice raised. “And what does a factory foreman have to do with it?!”

“Anyway, are you Yamazaki?” one of the three exorcists looked at the officer beside Shizuku.

“Eh?” Yamazaki squeaked, watching the three stand up from their seats.

“We must borrow your body. To draw in the spirit, and then, exorcise it, okay?” The tallest exorcist said.

“Young lady, please move inside.” He said to Shizuku. The teal haired girl nodded before standing up and walking to sit beside Hijikata. She worriedly looked at Yamazaki.

“Eh, w – wait a minute.” Yamazaki stuttered, a frightened look painted his face. “Wait…. ‘Exorcise’… how are going to do that?”

“We’ll just hit you really hard.” The tallest exorcist suddenly cracked his knuckles.

“What?!” Yamazaki frowned. “Anybody can do that!” before he knew it, the female exorcist punched him in the gut, knocking him out. Shizuku hissed before her brows furrowed. The last time she checked, possession isn’t supposed to be done like that.

She should know, she has-,

“Zaki-san?” the young girl called warily.

“Yes, it went into him.” the tallest exorcist gestured to Yamazaki. “A spirit went into him, here.”

“It looked to me like you delivered a body blow instead of putting a spirit in.” Kusahara said with a deadpanned expression on his face. Both he and Shizuku shared a glance before they looked back at the three.

“No, I went into him.” a voice from behind Yamazaki said. Shizuku turned to see the female exorcist hiding behind Yamazaki’s body and was clearly controlling him. “Well, this factory will be destroyed today, and it’s all my fault….”

A deadpanned look painted Shizuku’s face before her eyes suddenly turned half-lidded when the three exorcists started to argue with each other and started fighting.

“I’ve got no choice, then.” she sighed as she stood and walked over to the three exorcists. She pulled on their glasses and their hats, making them stop from fighting and pulling on each other.

“I wasn’t supposed to comment on anything, but you know, Gin-san, at least become prepared when you agree for a job.” Shizuku said with a small smile on her face. “You were totally obvious.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t going to say anything, either, because it was funny watching you play around.” Kusahara chuckled from inside of the room.

“Y – you knew…?” Gintoki stuttered, glancing at the slightly younger male before looking up at the teal haired girl. Shizuku just continued smiling before she moved to the side, revealing the angry faces of two – Hijikata and Kondou – Shinsengumi officers behind her. Suddenly, the two of them grinned menacingly as they looked at Sougo, who was just staring at the two of them. Later, all three officers hovered over three panic-stricken Yorozuya members.

Shizuku and Kusahara just stepped aside, letting the Shinsengumi officers play with the Yorozuya.

It had been a while since Okita tied the Yorozuya upside-down on the tree behind the compound. He did so when Shizuku wasn’t looking – she went to go put Yamazaki to bed inside the medical bay, and when she came back, she wasn’t even surprised when she saw Okita pouring some coke on Gintoki’s nose.

“I think that’s enough, Okita-san.” Shizuku said softly from behind the older male a while after she talked to Kusahara for a bit. She kept a gentle hand on Okita’s arm to prevent him from pouring more coke on Gintoki’s nose.

“Shizu-nee, I feel like my head is going to explode….” Kagura said in a weak voice. “Please help me….”

“Okita-san, please help me bring them down.” Shizuku softly said to Okita as she shielded Kagura’s head from the sun with her hand – even though the teal haired girl was already getting burned by the sun, too.

Okita sighed after a few seconds and released the Yorozuya trio from their restraints. He watched them collapse on the ground and face the sky. Shizuku began fanning Kagura’s face with her hand as she laid the younger girl’s head on her lap. The teal haired girl’s other hand was ruffling Shinpachi’s hair as she said small encouraging words to the Yorozuya.

Kusahara and the other two officers watched the sight from the porch of the Station.

“Wow, Sougo actually listens to Shizuku.” Hijikata commented, watching Sougo subtly shield Shizuku from the sun by standing next to her – though, Hijikata’s pretty sure that the younger male wasn’t faking the mocking look on his face when Okita looked down at Kagura.

“Well, she does have that certain effect with people.” Kusahara shrugged. “Most of us think that it’s just part of who she is. That’s why she knows how to take care of people.”

Hijikata and Kondou hummed in response and didn’t say anything else.

“Help me….” Kagura whined as she wrapped her arms around Shizuku’s waist. “I don’t feel so good.”

“There, there, Kagura-chan. You’ll be fine.” Shizuku said to the younger girl before she helped the rest of the Yorozuya to sit up, mildly aware that Okita was hovering above her – probably thinking of other ways to torture the trio, she thought to herself. She pulled out a handkerchief from under her sleeve and began wiping the coke that was still dripping from Gintoki’s nose.

“I’d say that this is what you get, but I think you’ve suffered enough.” She said to the older with a smile before she stood and walked next to Kusahara, who was watching and standing nearby.

“Normally, we’d beat you and cut you in strips….” Hijikata suddenly came walking towards them. “But we’re busy, so we don’t have time for that, these days. So just leave.” He said sternly to the trio.

Kagura and Gintoki blinked before they smirked. “Ah, they’re scared of ghosts.” The older said with a smug look on his face.

“Poor babies. Want mommy to stand and guard while you go to the bathroom?” Kagura teased.

“Are you ridiculing a samurai?!” Kondou yelled.

Suddenly, he bowed in front of the Yorozuya. “Please come with me to the bathroom.” he said politely.

“I can’t believe you’re asking!” Hijikata shouted.

“I was holding off on a trip to the bathroom because I’m scared.” Kondou replied while turning to face Hijikata, who had his jaw drop nearly to the floor.

“Okay, let’s go.” Kagura and Shizuku said with the older of the two chuckling.

“Hey, are you that scared?!” Hijikata growled loudly. “You want to seriously live your life like that?! You’re even having two girls with you, oi!”

Shizuku and Kagura walked beside Kondou while they walked inside the building. They turned at the first right and saw the male’s bathroom in a distance. After a few steps, they stopped in front of the entrance.

“Come on, Kondou-san, it’s alright.” Shizuku said as she looked up at the tall male. “We’ll stay right here.”

“Wait for me, alright?” Kondou asked with an unstable voice. “Just wait for me.” he said and stepped inside.

Outside the building, Kusahara, Okita and Hijikata stood in front of Shinpachi and Gintoki.

“You, please keep quiet about this.” The oldest among the officers said to the remaining Yorozuya. “I’m begging you.”

“It looks like you guys are really are in trouble.” Shinpachi said with slight pity. “Are you really alright?”

“It’s shameful.” Hijikata answered with a sigh. “I never thought my army would be so petrified of ghosts like this. If it’s something we can see, we can fight it with our swords, but I have no idea what to do against something we can’t see.”

“Huh, what?” Gintoki’s eyes widened slightly. “You believe in ghosts?” he asked, before he put his right hand on his left arm.

“Ow! Ow! Help, mommy! It’s the man who injured his head, over there!” the white haired male mocked.

An irk mark appeared on Hijikata’s head. “I’m going to kill you, someday.” He hissed.

“Don’t tell me you saw the woman in the red kimono, Hijikata-san.” Okita said as he turned to face the Vice-Chief.

“I can’t tell for sure.” Hijikata growled, remembering the thing that he saw the other night. “But I saw something strange. I don’t think it was human.”

“Ow! Ow! Help! Daddy!”

Hijikata looked up at the sound of Gintoki and Okita’s voice in front of them.

“Bring me a Band-Aid! The size that can wrap around a whole person!” Okita mocked, mimicking Gintoki’s position.

“Did you guys rehearse this, or something?!” Hijikata growled.

“Now, now,” Kusahara said softly. “Let’s try to think this through and not mock each other, alright?”

“A woman in a red kimono….” Shinpachi suddenly said from the side, earning the four people’s attention. “It reminds me of a ghost story…” the young boy said.

“At the temple school I used to go to… that story got passed around a lot.” He continued. “Let’s see…. One evening, a student was playing at school. Nobody was supposed to be in the school building at that time, but… a woman wearing a red kimono appeared.” The young boy frowned a bit.

“And when he asked her what she was doing….”

A loud scream echoed through the whole compound, making the five people standing outside whip their heads towards the building.

Inside the men’s bathroom, Kagura and Shizuku repeatedly knocked on the stall that Kondou had entered only minutes before.

“Kondou-san, are you alright?!” Shizuku asked worriedly as she continued knocking on the wooden door. Suddenly, rapid footsteps came from outside the bathroom and when Shizuku turned to the side, she saw Kusahara, Gintoki and Hijikata run inside with full speed.

“Shizuku, what’s wrong?!” Kusahara immediately asked. Gintoki was beside the young girl a second later, carefully inspecting both her and Kagura.

“I think something’s wrong with Kondou-san.” Shizuku answered with urgency in her voice.

“Move, move!” Hijikata commanded and Shizuku immediately pulled Kagura to the side as they watched the older male kick down the stall door.

On the other side, Kondou was lying upside-down with his head inside the toilet bowl.

Immediately remembering what had happened to them only two chapters ago, Kusahara and Okita suddenly looked at Shizuku with identical expressions that said, “What the hell did you do?” on their faces.

“What?!” the young girl raised her hands in air, knowing exactly their looks meant. “I didn’t do it!”

After a long while of staring at Kondou’s position, Hijikata and Kusahara worked together to get their Chief out of the toilet. They immediately brought him towards the older male’s room at the barracks and laid him in bed. Shizuku removed Kondou’s blazer and cravat and loosened his clothes. She wiped his head with a damp cloth before she crawled back, settling beside Okita, who was watching her work from behind. Since the others were out in the bathroom to investigate, the brunet’s task was to look after Shizuku so that nothing would happen to her while the others were away.

“He’ll be like this for a while.” The young girl said as she looked outside, seeing that it was already night.

“Are you sure that you weren’t the one who did that to him?” Okita asked as he looked at the girl beside him.

“If it were me, I couldn’t have even carried him up.” Shizuku answered while puling on her hair tie and letting her long hair fall down. “I mean, have you seen these noodle arms?” She turned to face Okita while removing the tasuki from her sleeves.

“Well, you did a fine job when you did it to me and your cousin, younger Kusahara.” Okita said with an accusing expression on his face.

“Ane-san was there.” Shizuku answered with a small chuckle. “And besides, why would I do that to Kondou-san?”

“I don’t know, younger Kusahara, maybe because you hated him?”

“You know, Okita-san, I’m starting to think that you hate everyone.”

“I don’t hate everyone; it’s more like, everyone hates me. I just return the feeling.”

“That’s not true. I don’t hate you.”

Okita hummed in response but before he could say anything else, footsteps were heard outside the room that they were in.

“We’re back.” Kusahara’s voice suddenly came from outside. A few seconds later, he appeared on the other side of the door with the others.

“So, how’s the investigation?” Okita asked from his spot.

“Nothing’s unusual.” Hijikata answered as he sat on Kondou’s other side with the Yorozuya, while Kusahara sat next to Shizuku.

“T – the w –woman in the r – red kimono……” Kondou suddenly started to mumble in his sleep. By the way he was wriggling on his bed, it looked like he was having a nightmare. “S – she’s c – coming!”

“Kondou-san, please pull yourself together.” Okita said from beside Shizuku with a bored voice. “Talking in his sleep, and at his age, too.” he sighed disapprovingly.

It was silent or a while before Hijikata started to talk.

“There’s something strange going on in this building.” He said.

“I think that it’s a ghost.” Shinpachi said from beside Gintoki.

“Ha?” Gintoki frowned while picking his nose. “I don’t believe in unscientific things like ghosts Though, I believe in the lost Continent of Mu.” He sighed, before he pulled Kagura and Shinpachi to their feet.

“That’s nonsense. It’s too much trouble.” He said. “Let’s go home.”

“Gin-san.” Shizuku called from in front of them. “Why are you holding hands?” she asked, pointing at Gintoki’s hands clutching Kagura’s and Shinpachi’s tightly.

Shizuku and Okita stood up from the floor and looked at the Yorozuya trio. “Ah, the woman in the red kimono!” they said at the same time, pointing behind the Yorozuya.

Gintoki barreled through the closet in less than a second later.

“What are you doing, Gin-san?” Shinpachi asked with a deadpanned look on his face.

The white haired male looked around before he looked behind him. “Well, the entrance to Mu...” he muttered.

“Say, Danna, are you afraid of ghosts?” Okita asked with an amused smile on his face. “Hijikata-san, Kusahara-san, this guy…. huh?” he and Shizuku looked around and saw that only Kusahara was there, silently standing beside them. Behind them all, Hijikata was trying to fit himself inside the large vase at the back of the room. Shizuku, Kusahara and Okita walked up to the Vice-Chief and called out his name.

“What are you doing, Hijikata-san?”

Hijikata pulled himself out of the vase. “Well, the entrance to the Mayonnaise Kingdom….”

Shinpachi, Kagura, Okita, Kusahara and Shizuku suddenly turned their heels and started walking away.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Gintoki suddenly called.

“Don’t get me wrong!” he called in a high voice. “He may be afraid, but not me!”

“You’re the one who’s afraid!” Hijikata yelled back.

“Alright, alright.” Kagura said with half-lidded eyes. “You just go to Mu, or Mayonnaise Kingdom, or whatever!”

“What does your contemptuous look mean?!” Hijikata and Gintoki yelled at the same time.

The five younger people in front of them suddenly gasped as they stood still, looking at something behind the older three.

“What’s that?” Hijikata asked.

Gintoki scoffed. “If you’re trying to scare us again, forget it.” he said.

“The same trick doesn’t work twice.” Hijikata nodded.

The four younger people in front of them slowly had their jaws drop and their eyes suddenly widened.

“Hey, come on, you’re taking this joke too far.” Gintoki said with a frown.

Without another second later, the five ran out of the room with Shinpachi screaming out loud.

“I – I saw her!” the young boy yelled. “She was real! She was real!”

“I’m sorry, Gin-san, Hijikata-san!” Shizuku shouted as she ran in between Okita and Kusahara.

“Gin-chan!” Kagura cried on Shizuku’s other side.

“Forget about them. They’re doomed.” Okita huffed.

A small explosion ran around the compound and made the youngsters look back while they continued to run. Behind them, they saw two people come out from the smoke coming from inside Kondou’s room. They were running towards them at top speed.

“T – they made it!” Shinpachi cried. “Wait a minute….”

Shizuku looked behind her and saw someone closely following the two older males. “They’re carrying her!” she gasped loudly. “They’re carrying the woman!”

“Get AWAY!” Shinpachi screamed at the top of his lungs.

The five ran at top speed until they entered the shed at the end of the Shinsengumi compound, where they locked the door and barricaded themselves in. They all sat on the floor next to each other. Kagura buried her face on Shizuku’s chest as she hugged her tightly.

“They died! They really died!” Shinpachi said to himself as he rocked back and forth on the floor.

“Yes! I’ll finally be promoted to Vice-chief!” Okita cheered from beside the younger male.

“Now’s not the time for that!” Shinpachi and Kusahara yelled.

“Hey, does anybody have a light?” the brunet officer asked around while holding a mosquito coil on his hand. Shizuku looked behind her and reached out for the lighter at the shelf near her.

“What was that?” Shinpachi cried. “What the hell was that?”

“Shinpachi, Shizu-nee did Gin-chan die?” Kagura asked as she let go of Shizuku. “Did he? Did he?” Honestly, the slightly older girl didn’t know what to answer.

“Well, I once tried to summon an evil spirit so Hijikata-san and Kusahara-san would die.” Okita said with a bored tone in his voice. “Maybe it’s left over from back then…”

“Okita-san!” Shizuku yelled with a horrified expression on her face. “How black is your soul?!”

Kusahara immediately knocked on the younger officer’s head.

“Are you the root of this evil?!” Kagura yelled as she lunged towards Okita. “You bastard! I’ll avenge Gin-chan!”

“Wait, hold on, hold on!” Shizuku raised her voice, trying to break up the fight that was happening between Okita and Kagura. “The place is too small for a fight!” she said as she pulled them apart.

“Why is it that every time you see each other, you-,”

Kusahara, Shinpachi and Shizuku looked in front of them and saw the woman in a red kimono staring right into their souls. Shizuku gave a sharp scream and backed up, hitting Okita in the process and making him fall on the ground. The impact on his head made him pass out under Shizuku.

“Okita-san!” the young girl cried out. “I’m sorry! Okita-san!!” she immediately cradled and inspected the older male’s head for injuries. Behind her, Shinpachi accidentally hit Kagura in the head and made her pass out on the ground, too.

“Kagura-chan!!”

Suddenly, Kusahara, Shizuku and Shinpachi looked at the door and saw that the woman in a red kimono was gone.

“Wh – what?” they asked, before they looked at the side and saw the lighted mosquito coil on the ground. They looked at each other with identical faces before they immediately stood up.

“I knew it.” Shizuku gasped as she ran towards the medical bay with the other two. “I had a hunch, but I never thought that it would actually be true.” She said as they entered the building and inspected the bedridden officers on the ground.

“All of them have bite marks somewhere on their body, but I couldn’t pin my finger on what could’ve cause it.” Shizuku huffed while checking on everyone.

“We have to get to Gintoki-san and the others, quick.” Kusahara said and they stood up from the floor. They ran towards the back of the compound and heard a yell coming from Gintoki.

“Gin-san!” Shinpachi and Shizuku yelled at the same time. They stopped on their tracks when they saw Hijikata on the ground with a woman in a red kimono.

Shinpachi and Kusahara gave a sharp snort.

“Well, I guess they didn’t need us, after all.” Shizuku chuckled before she went to go help out the people in front of her.

The next day, some of the officers that were bedridden already got up to their feet. While Shizuku was nursing the remaining officers, the Shinsegumi tied up the woman in the red kimono on the tree behind the station. Shizuku wasn’t shocked to see the sight when she went out to look at what Gintoki and the others were doing.

“I still can’t believe that the two of you are scared of ghosts.” Shizuku chuckled at the two men sitting on the porch of the building. Behind her, Kusahara joined Okita and the others on the interrogation of the Amanto that caused all of the ruckus.

“We weren’t scared!” Gintoki grumbled. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a ghost or a mosquito. It’s another pain in the ass to everyone.”

“You’re a pain in the ass!” Hijikata huffed. “I’m not going to give you any reward, so just leave.”

“That’s just mean, Hijikata-san.” Shizuku said with a small frown, before her smile was back up again. “They did help you, though, so could you at least give them something?”

“Are you not getting burnt, Shizuku?” Gintoki ignored the man beside him and asked the younger girl standing in front of them. “You’re under the sun.”

“I’m fine.” Shizuku answered with a chuckle, looking up at the slight shade she was getting from the tree behind her. “A little sunlight once in a while won’t hurt.”

“Huh?” Hijikata raised a brow. “You’re sensitive to the sun?”

“Unfortunately, yeah.” Shizuku sheepishly nodded, realizing that it was her first time telling the older male about her condition.

“Then you should stay-,”

“Gin-chan, it’s time to leave.”

Kagura opened the doors to look for Gintoki.

What she saw in front of her made her angry.

“Oi, what are you two going to Shizu-nee?” she asked, glaring at two grownups that were stacked on top of Shizuku on the ground.

“W – we’re just shielding h – her from the sun. Right, Hijikata-kun?” Gintoki said as he looked at Hijikata.

“R – right, right.” Hijikata nodded as sweat dropped from his forehead.

“S – sorry, but, I – I think you’re cr – crushing me.” a soft cry came from underneath the two males and made them look down at Shizuku looking up at them, looking like she was having trouble breathing. The two older males immediately got to their knees and began apologizing.

“We’re sorry!”

The click of a blade sounded sharply from in front of the two.

“Hijikata-san, Gintoki-san, I appreciate your concern for my cousin. Not to worry about proof, or anything; I witnessed the whole thing. As a thanks, I’ll give you a ten second head start, and we’ll start playing a lovely little game.”

“It’s not what you think, Kusahara-kun!” Gintoki yelled. “Trust me when I say that I will never do anything bad to your cousin!”

“Kusahara, as your Vice-Chief, I order you to sheath back your sword!” Hijikata cried. “Sheath back your sword!!”

“… One, two, three….”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	14. You'll never know what you'll get when you pay attention to small details

* * *

_XI_

_Manga: Chapter 29-31_

_Anime: Episode 17_

* * *

“WHO’S there?”

Katsura raised his head as he lowered his hat to keep people from recognizing him. After feeling a presence next to him, he sharply asked who was standing beside him. A sharp chuckle was the response that he got.

“Zura, still on the run from the Bakufu, huh?”

Knowing full well who it was, Katsura sighed.

“It’s not Zura, it’s Katsura.” He replied as he closed his eyes. “Why are you here? I heard you escaped from the Bakufu’s pursuit and were laying low in Kyou.” He didn’t bother to hide the deep frown on his face. It’s been a while since he’s been in contact with the man standing beside him and he’s not sure that he wants to talk to him at that moment.

“I couldn’t resist after hearing there was a festival going on, so, here I am.” Said the man wearing a purple kimono. He just stood there while looking at the river below them as he pulled out a pipe from under his long purple sleeves.

“Better keep that love of festivals of yours under control.” Katsura replied lowly. “The Bakufu hates you even more than they hate me. You’ll get yourself killed.”

The man chuckled.

“No way would I miss a festival that the Shogun, himself, is going to attend.”

Katsura turned sharply to the person standing beside him. “How did you know?” he asked lowly before a look of realization came to his face.

“You’re not going to...?!”

The man lightly scoffed. “I don’t intend to do anything that’s outrageous. But that would be fun, yes.” he nodded, a smirk evident on his face. “If the Shogun’s head should fly during the festival, the Bakufu and the entire country would be turned upside down.” He started chuckling until he broke into a low laugh.

Then suddenly, he abruptly stopped, making Katsura look at him.

“Oi, Zura, did you…” the man called lowly as he dropped his hand, making it hang idle beside him. There was a minute of silence in between the two males, Katsura being the one who was waiting for what the other was going to say.

Even though he knows what he was going to ask, Katsura stayed silent, wanting the words to come directly from the other male.

After a while, the man spoke again.

“No, never mind.” He said and suddenly turned away, not saying anything else before leaving Katsura to watch his back move and disappear in the crowd. He stayed silent for a moment before he sighed.

“It’s not Zura, it’s Katsura.”

“Ane-san, I’m going to go and meet Gin-san and the others!” Shizuku called from the front door as she pulled her high socks up and put on her sandals, just as she always did when she was going out of the house.

“Have a safe trip!” Tae called from living room.

“I will!” Shizuku yelled back before going outside and opening her umbrella. She began walking down the road and into Kabuki-chou with a smile on her face. She was greeted by the people that she frequented seeing, as well as the shop owners of the places that she would always buy things from. She even saw a few officers here and there. She always greeted them back with a smile.

A few blocks away from the Yorozuya office, Shizuku suddenly heard someone singing on the top of their lungs, but the person seemed to be either tone-deaf or they just didn’t know how to sing. Curious, Shizuku walked closer to the place where she was hearing the singing and the closer she got, the better she could hear that it was somewhat similar to Shinpachi’s voice.

“I wonder if that’s them.” Shizuku muttered to herself as she held on her umbrella tightly. She walked faster towards the scene. When she got to a place that looked like a junkyard, she saw a lot of people crowding around the entrance of the building there, and from that distance, Shizuku could see an unmistakable lump of white hair that belonged to only one person that has those curls.

“Gin-san!” Shizuku yelled over Shinpachi’s amplified singing voice. Gintoki looked behind him and saw Shizuku waving at him. Instinctively, he raised his hand and waved back at her.

“Oi, Shizuku!” the white haired male called back, trying to make his voice louder than Shinpachi’s singing. By the time that Gintoki called her name, Shizuku was already walking up to them with her hands over her ears while struggling to keep her umbrella up.

“Oh, Otose-san, good morning!” Shizuku greeted the old woman when she realized that she was also there with the Yorozuya.

“It’s nice to see you again, Shizuku!” Otose greeted back over the noise.

All of a sudden, the entrance of the building opened and revealed a giant robot standing on the other side. Shinpachi suddenly stopped singing.

“Huh, what?!” Gintoki looked up at the robot. “This is Hiraga-san?” he asked out loud.

The robot suddenly reached for Gintoki’s head and began lifting him up from the ground and swung him around.

“Gin-san!” Shizuku gasped as she tried to reach up to the white haired male. “Bad robot!”

“You’re taking my head off!” Gintoki yelled at the robot. “I said, you’re taking my head off, Hiraga-san!” the bystanders suddenly started to run away upon seeing the sight.

“Stop it, Hiraga-san!” the white haired male cried.

“Idiots! I’m Hiraga!” someone suddenly yelled from inside the building. “You brats are making a terrible racket in front of my house.” An old man scolded.

“Think about all the trouble you’re causing the neighborhood!”

“That’s you, you old geezer!” Otose threw back at the old man. Behind them, Kagura, Shinpachi and Shizuku tried their best to pull Gintoki out from the grip of the robot, who continued to swing the white haired male around.

“That racket you’re making is driving everyone in the neighborhood gashankon crazy!” Otose continued to yell.

“I don’t recall ever making a racket that went ‘gashankon’!” the old man from inside the building yelled back. “It’s gashuiin-gasshan!”

Otose gave a low sigh.

“Gengai, you’re not young anymore.” She said as her features suddenly softened. “Try to live in peace and quiet. You intend to have those wind-up toys look after you in retirement?”

Shizuku suddenly looked behind her and lifted up her umbrella for a bit to look at the face that Otose was making. Really, she didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but she just overheard. Despite the old man yelling at her from the front, the older woman was having a pitiful expression cover her face. Shizuku tilted her head to the side, momentarily forgetting about the swinging body over her head.

“Hey, Saburo! Don’t hold back. Force them out!” the old man suddenly commanded at the robot holding Gintoki.

Shizuku blinked

“Saburo?”

“Affirmative.” The robot replied with its automated voice. He suddenly pulled Gintoki back and threw him directly at the old man.

“Gin-san!” snapping from her daze, Shizuku – along with Kagura and Shinpachi – yelled at the same time before they went to help Gintoki stand up before they looked after the old man.

After recovering, Gintoki took the initiative to tie the old man up by the wall. Shizuku, not really knowing what they were doing, helped out in clearing the old man’s warehouse because that’s what the others were doing.

“Wow, there’s a mountain of robots!” the young girl beamed as she looked around while holding a box of nuts and bolts in her arms.

“Did you make all of these, Hiraga-san?” Shinpachi asked as he looked around the warehouse.

“What’re you guys doing, packing up without permission?!” Hiraga, the old man, yelled from his spot at the corner. “Damn it! Untie these ropes!”

“Hey, get me some tea.” Gintoki said as he looked up at Saburo, the robot.

“Affirmative.” The robot answered and started walking away.

“Saburo! Why’re you working like their servant?!” Hiraga shouted. “Help me!”

“Boy, you sure make truly good stuff, old man.” Gintoki said with an evil glint in his eyes. “Can I get one of these tin cans for myself?”

Shizuku watched from the entrance of the warehouse as Saburo poured tea on top of Gintoki’s head, making him curl on the ground. “Gin-san, are you alright?” she sarcastically called out, earning an angry look from the older male. Shizuku just chuckled before she placed down the box she was holding and went up to Gintoki while pulling out a handkerchief from under her sleeve.

“There, there, Ginpatsu-san.” She cooed while reaching forwards to wipe the tea off of Gintoki’s face. She gently held the tall male’s cheek to prevent him from moving too much.

“That really sounds half-hearted.” Gintoki cried. “Be more sincere about it!”

“I am sincere.” the young girl blinked. The older male just sighed before he stood up with Shizuku’s help. Behind them, Saburo suddenly punched Hiraga on the head.

“Otose-san, is he really Edo’s top inventor?” Shinpachi asked with a deadpanned expression on his face.

“Huh? That’s what I hear.” Otose answered while looking around. “But to us, it looks like just junk, you know.”

“It’s not junk.” Hiraga glared from under his googles. “Creating something s like materializing your soul into reality. These are all my beloved sons.”

“Your son’s tangled up over there with a delinquent.” Gintoki said with a bored voice as he pointed behind him and Shizuku.

“Yay!” Kagura cheered while spinning Saburo over her head like a baton.

“No, no, no, no, no!” Hiraga cried loudly while shaking his head.

“Rocket punch fire!” Kagura cheered.

“Stop! He can’t do that! You’re just tearing his arms off!”

Shizuku gently placed down the box that she was holding by the river bank at the edge of Kabuki-chou. She stood up and stepped back to stand beside Gintoki, who was looking bored, as always.

“That should do it.” the older male said as he looked at the pile of metal that was in front of him. “You can make as much noise as you like out here. Do it all you want.”

“All I want?” Hiraga asked in a quiet voice. “But they’re all broken to bits. What have you bastards done? The only person who actually took the time to carefully pick and hold up my things is that girl in the blue kimono.” He said as he pointed at Shizuku. The young girl chuckled sheepishly in response.

“Don’t worry. Sabu is okay.” Kagura said from behind them. when they all turned around, they saw the vermillion haired girl sitting on top of Saburo.

“Affirmative.” The robot said.

“Don’t ‘Affirmative’ me!” The old inventor yelled. “It’s shaped differently! You’re missing your arms! Your arms!”

“Kagura-chan, I think it’s time to get down from there.” Shizuku said as she held up her arms to the younger girl. While she helped Kagura get down from Saburo’s shoulders, Hiraga suddenly dropped to his knees.

“What am I going to do?!” he asked out loud with a begging tone in his voice. “I won’t be able to finish in time for the festival!”

“The festival?” Shizuku, Shinpachi and Gintoki asked at the same time.

“In three days, there’s going to be a festival to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the country’s opening to the Amanto.” The invertor replied with a saddened expression on his face. “Even the Shogun is going to make a rare public appearance.”

“The Shogun?” Shizuku tilted her head to the side as she and Kagura went to stand next to Gintoki and Shinpachi.

“I have direct orders from the Bakufu to have my robots perform at the ceremony.” Hiraga cried. “What am I going to do? If I don’t finish in time, I’ll have to commit seppuku!”

There was silence for a while.

“Uh—oh, I forgot I was making curry.” Gintoki suddenly muttered and without a second to hesitate, he and the Yorozuya sharply turned on their heels and ran away at top speed, not realizing that Shizuku was left behind with Hiraga and Otose.

“W – wait, Gin-san!” Shizuku called, but her words didn’t reach her friends.

“Hey! Give me back Saburo’s arms!” Hiraga yelled at the top of his lungs. The trio continued on to run without looking back. “Darn those kids…. They’re crazy.”

“Will you be alright?” Otose asked from behind Hiraga.

“Well, I’ve got no choice.” The mechanic replied lowly while rubbing his head. “If I work around the clock, then I might….”

“Not that.” Otose said while placing her cigarette in between her lip. “I meant your son.” Shizuku, who was still standing there, turned slightly to look at the old lady, overhearing their conversation once again.

“It I’m not mistaken about your son, didn’t the Bakufu...?” Otose said with a little pity in her voice.

Hiraga sighed before he turned around. “Otose, the trick for an old man to live a long life is to quickly forget the bad things.” he said as he started to walk towards the pile of metal next to the river. “And, I’ve told you before, these are my sons now.” He stopped to look up at Saburo before he stood in front of the pile of metal and crouched down. He didn’t utter another word after that.

Shizuku looked at the old man with pity in her face. She clutched her umbrella tightly as she walked towards the mechanic. Behind her, Otose sighed heavily. “Suit yourself.” She said to Hiraga before turning around.

“Come on, Shizuku, let’s go.” Otose looked at the young girl hiding her face under her umbrella.

“Shizuku?” the old woman called when the young girl didn’t move from her spot.

After a few seconds of silence, Shizuku looked up and spoke. “Otose-san, is it alright if I stay here for a bit?” she asked the old woman, her olive eyes shining slightly.

“Are you sure? You’re just going to watch him work on scrap metal.” Otose asked with a raised brow.

“It’s fine.” Shizuku answered with a smile, before she walked up to Hiraga and kneeled down on the ground next to him, silently watching the mechanic work. Behind them, Otose gave another sigh before she turned around and started walking away from the riverside.

“I’ll send Gintoki to fetch you later.” She said just before she was out of earshot. “You know that he’ll probably come get you earlier than you’d initially thought. Try not to argue with him and just let him take you home.”

Otose left after one last look behind her.

There was a moment of silence between Shizuku and Hiraga. The only sounds that were heard around the area was the constant turning and pulling of bolts and wires – of course, aside from the sound of the river flowing and the bids that stopped by their location. Shizuku raised her umbrella up high to shade both herself and Hiraga out from the sun. Oddly, the silence was a bit comfortable, before the older broke it.

“Shouldn’t you go?” he asked the girl beside him while he continued working. “It’s no use staying with an old man like me. People will find it weird and I might get arrested for a lot of reasons. I don’t want to deal with the Shinsengumi at this old age.”

Shizuku chuckled. “I know everyone in the Shinsengumi, so you’ll probably just get a scolding. If the District Police arrests you, however, I’ll just have to explain that I’m like your granddaughter or something.” She said with a smile. “That’s not so bad.”

“Well, there’s no chance of me having any grandkids.” Hiraga replied with a sigh. “As you probably heard from Otose earlier, my only son’s already dead. Almost everyone in Edo knows that.”

“I’m sorry.” Shizuku relied softly before she watched Hiraga stand up.

“I need to fix Saburo, first.” The old man said while facing the tall robot, clearly not wanting to stay on that topic anymore. “But I need to make another arm. Those friends of yours got one. It would be better if I still have it, but I guess I can’t get it now.”

Shizuku smiled before she stood up. “I’ll get it back for you, don’t worry, Hiraga-san.” She said before she started to run towards the direction of the Yorozuya. “Wait for me, alright?!” she called over her shoulder before she continued to run.

Hiraga watched her back until it completely disappeared from his sight. “What an odd girl.” he said before he continued working.

A few minutes after the young girl left, Hiraga felt a dark presence hover behind him.

At the Shinsengumi headquarters, Kusahara rounded up the members of his Division after a call for an urgent meeting was announced through the speakers around the compound. Not even three minutes after the announcement, The Second Division officers were already inside the meeting room.

“What are we going to talk about?” the teal haired male asked as he placed his sheathed sword down on the tatami mat and sat beside Yamazaki while his Division members sat in line on his other side. In front of the Second Division, Okita and the whole of the First Division sat while staring at Hijikata and Kondou at the very front of the line, facing the rest of them.

“I’m not sure.” Yamazaki answered from beside Kusahara. “But I think it has something to do with the festival happening in three days.”

“Oh, right, the festival.” Kusahara hummed, remembering the news that was announced only the week before about a festival happening to commemorate the opening of the country. He remembered telling Shizuku about it since she loves going to festivals ever since she was young, and she makes sure to attend most of them, if not all of them. Too bad Kusahara wouldn’t be there with her since he knows that the Shogun will attend the festival. He and his Division were tasked to stand guard outside the Shogun’s tent during the whole duration of the festival. Of course, Shizuku knows so she said that it was okay.

“Alright, now that everyone’s here, listen up.” Hijikata cleared his throat and looked sternly at everyone. The Shinsengumi officers all stood at attention as they listened to their Vice-Chief.

“On the day of the festival, the Shinsegumi will protect the Shogun with every last man.” Hijikata said lowly. “If the Shogun so much as gets a scratch, our heads will roll. Keep that in mind!” Kusahara shuddered a bit, but the feeling was gone immediately.

“If you see anyone suspicious, kill them without hesitation!” the Vice-Chief of the Shinsengumi said while crossing his arms. “I’ll take full responsibility.”

“For real?” Okita asked while raising his katana in front of him. “In that case, I’ll start by killing every samurai in sight.” He said with a deadpanned expression on his face as he slightly pushed his blade out from the scabbard. The brunet suddenly looked behind him.

“Kusahara-san looks suspicious right now; can I start with him?”

“Just try, Okita-kun.” Kusahara replied smugly with a dark glint on his eyes as he tightly held on the teal hilt of his sword, clicking the blade from its scabbard. “Hijikata-san, if I take out Okita-kun as an act of self-defense, you can take the consequences, right? You said so, yourself.”

“Alright, everyone!” Hijikata immediately replied. “Disregard that last order.”

Okita and Kusahara placed their swords back and straightened their postures as they looked at Hijikata and Kondou.

“Also, although this intelligence is still unconfirmed,” Hjikata said while pulling out an unlighted cigarette from in between his lips. “we have information that someone really dangerous is in Edo.”

“Someone really dangerous?” Kusahara asked with a raised brow.

“Who could that be?” Okita asked.

Hijikata closed his eyes as his brows furrowed. “Remember that incident where over a dozen government officials got assassinated during a dinner meeting?” he asked. Kusahara hummed slightly, knowing that the incident took place back when he was still not working with the Shinsengumi.

“That was his work.” Hijikata said sharply as he opened his eyes. “The most radical and dangerous man among the Joui Roushi.”

Kusahara’s eyes suddenly widened, his olive eyes darkening. “O – oi, you don’t mean….” He asked lowly, his slightly shaky voice gaining the attention of the other Shinsengumi officers around him.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Hijikata said with a low sigh. “Everyone knows him, not only us in the police force, but everyone in Edo.”

“I can’t believe it.” Kusahara said in a low voice, his hand already beginning to pull his hair in slight frustration. “The last I’ve heard from the people around; he was still in Kyou.”

Hijikata raised a brow at the teal haired male. “How do you know that?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Hijikata-san, you literally placed me on record duty for a whole week just last month because Okita-kun and I blew up your room. Of course I saw the files about him.” The younger frowned, remembering the incident the happened because of him and the First Division Captain.

“Again, that wasn’t our fault.” Okita added, looking at the Vice-Chief.

“How the hell was it not your fault?! You two almost blew each other up and my room was collateral damage!” Hijikata yelled before he composed himself, looking back at Kusahara.

“But yeah, you’re right. That’s what we thought, too; about him being in Kyou.” The dark haired male nodded, sitting back on his spot. “But I did tell you that it’s still unconfirmed, but we think that he’s here.”

Kusahara gritted his teeth as he tightly balled his fists.

“Out of all of the times….. Takasugi’s in Edo. Shit.”

_“This is bad.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	15. You'll never know when festivals become significant

* * *

_XII_

_Manga: Lesson 29-31_

_Anime: Episode 17_

* * *

SHIZUKU went out of the house, immediately rushing towards the river bank with her umbrella in hand. She got there within twenty minutes.

“Good morning, Hiraga-san!” she beamed as she raced down the stairs to greet the mechanic sitting by the riverbank.

“Oh, good morning, Shizuku.” Hiraga looked back from his work and waved at the girl running towards him.

Ever since the day that they brought Hiraga’s robots to the riverbank, Shizuku has been going there every day to keep him company. It had only been three days, but it seemed that it was longer than that. Since she didn’t know anything about mechanics, she just spent her time passing over parts and tools to the older male to assist and at least hasten his working speed. So far, it seemed to be working.

“Wow, you work fast, Hiraga-san.” Shizuku complimented as she looked at the tall robots standing in front of her. Some of them were almost complete, but most of them had bits and pieces missing here and there.

“I’m still a bit far off from the intended schedule, though.” Hiraga replied before he disappeared in between two big robots. “Hey, Shizuku, pass me the large screwdriver there, will you?”

“Coming!” the teal haired girl replied brightly before she went towards the toolbox and grabbed what the old man was asking for. A few minutes of working later, someone called from behind Shizuku and made her turn around.

“Shizuku."

“Gin-san, hey!” the teal haired girl waved at the Yorozuya she watched them walk towards her position.

“Shizu-nee!” Kagura called happily as she went to hug the older girl. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’ve been helping Hiraga-san with his robots, didn’t Gin-san tell you?” Shizuku answered while gesturing to the mechanic behind her. “How about you, guys?”

“Otose-san asked us to come here.” Shinpachi replied with a sheepish chuckle. “So, here we are.”

“If you’re here to help, then get to work!” Hiraga yelled form behind the robots and immediately after, the Yorozuya started to move around while trying to do the things that the mechanic was telling them to do. A few hours later, at around lunchtime, GIntoki was starting to slack off, prompting Hiraga to hit his head with a wrench.

“Quit playing and get back to work!” the old man yelled. “Good grief, we’re short on time!”

“But, Hiraga-san, the festival has already begun.” Shinpachi said from in front of one of the robots. In the distance, they could hear the familiar sounds of a festival going on.“Even if the five of us work on the double, we’re still not going to make it.”

“The performance won’t be until tonight, Shinpachi-kun.” Shizuku said from beside Gintoki, who was lying with his face on the ground. It didn’t seem that he had any intention of moving. "If we can somehow finish by this evening, we’ll manage.” Shizuku said, before she poked Gintoki’s head with her finger.

“Gin-san you can enjoy the festival later. Or, if you want, you can take a rest, but only after we’re done here.” She huffed at the older male while holding on to her umbrella. “Come on.” She pulled on the older male’s clothes to get him up.

“I don’t want to.” Gintoki grumbled under his breath, letting Shizuku friutlessly pull on him to get him to work.

“Gin-san, if you’re not planning to help, then I’m going to hit your head with a wrench again.”

“Wow, would you look at that?” Gintoki suddenly sprang up to his feet. “I feel brand new again!” he said with a laugh before he walked over to the robots. Shizuku chuckled before she watched Kagura play with Saburo on the side of the river.

A few hours later, Shizuku and the Yorozuya stood back as they wiped their foreheads to get rid of sweat. The sun was already setting and was lighting everything up with a warm, orange and red hue, indicating that it was almost nighttime, only hours until the performance.

“We somehow managed to finish on time.” Shinpachi sighed in relief as he looked at the robots standing tall in front of him. “Though, there are problems in some spots.”

“Just a bit more, then.” Shizuku said as she picked up her closed umbrella from the ground, not really needing it anymore since the sun was already setting and it was already getting colder.

Hiraga scoffed. “If you guys hadn’t showed up when you did, I wouldn’t have any problems.” He said as he placed his hands on his hips.

“Get off your pedestal, you public hazard geezer!” Gintoki scoffed while rubbing his head. “We only came because the old hag forced us to, and because she knew that Shizuku was helping you.”

Shizuku slapped the older male’s arm as she frowned at him.

A small bag of coins was thrown towards Gintoki and he caught it with no effort.

“There’s some for Shizuku, too. She did more than you lot, so don’t get greedy.” Hiraga hissed as he walked towards the robots. “I still have final adjustments to make. You’ll only get in the way, so go to the festival or something. Take Shizuku with you, too. She deserves the break.”

Without hesitation, Kgura grabbed hold of Shizuku’s hand, as well as Gintoki’s, and started to pull them away from the riverbank. “Come on, Gin-chan, Shizu-nee! Hurry, hurry!”

“W – wait, Kagura-chan!” Shizuku called as she steadied herself to prevent her from tripping due to Kagura’s fast running.

“Thank you, Hiraga-san!” Shinpachi bowed before he joined in on the run and left the riverbank.

Hiraga scoffed again. “They sure are a rowdy bunch.” He muttered under breath before he turned around. “Right, Sabu – Saburo!” he yelled the robot’s name repeatedly as Saburo walked away from him.

“Hey, you can’t go! Saburo!” Hiraga shouted as he followed the robot.

A pair of olive eyes watched the whole scene from the bridge hovering over the riverbank where multiple robots lay deactivated and idle. Even when it was only for a few minutes, the whole time he was there, his hands were balled into fists with his knuckles already turning deathly white from the force.

He said nothing, but his sharp olive eyes spoke for him, his gaze solely focused on one person until they disappeared from his sight.

Shizuku ended up getting dragged across the festival by Kagura and Shinpachi until the moon was already up in the sky. It was a good thing that it didn’t rain. Shizuku was actually enjoying herself so much that she almost didn’t want to leave. She had a lot of fun being dragged into places and being fed with a lot of food. Most of their expenses was on Gintoki’s card, so the two younger members of the Yorozuya were spending money to no end. At some point in the night, they even passed by some of the Shinsengumi officers that were on guard there, but they have yet to see their top officers.

“Are you getting tired, Shizu-nee?” Kagura asked as she sat on top of Saburo with a stick of cotton candy in her hands. “It’s both our first festival here in Edo!” she beamed.

“You’re right, Kagura-chan.” Shizuku replied as she walked around with a cone of ice cream in his hand. “I don’t know why, but I don’t get tired at festivals.” She said. “Especially when it’s a winter festival or something that goes on at night. Maybe it’s because I actually enjoy the event.”

“It’s good that we came here at this time, then.” Shinpachi replied from Shizuku’s other side. “It’s better to attend a festival at night, as they say.” He chuckled.

Shizuku hummed, finishing her ice cream. “I’ll try to find Nori-san for a bit.” She said as she turned around. “I’ll meet you up front when Hiraga-san’s performance is up.”

“Alright!” Shinpachi and Kagura waved at her before Shizuku walked back. On the way, she met up with Gintoki and Hiraga on a shop. She silently stood behind them before she tapped Gintoki’s back.

“Boo!” she yelled, effectively startling the older male and making him jump.

“Shizuku!” Gintoki hissed before he settled down in his chair, listening to the younger girl chuckle behind him.

“How odd.” Hiraga said from beside Gintoki, earning both his and Shizuku’s attention. “It almost looks as if Saburo’s having fun, too.”

“Well, anything’s more fun than hanging out with a grim-faced old geezer like you.” Gintoki commented, earning him a flick in the head from Shizuku.

“That’s not nice.” The girl scolded.

Hiraga scoffed. “You say the same things that my son used to say.”

“Son?” Gintoki asked. “You had one?”

“He’s already dead, though.” Hiraga answered. “He went off to war on his own and died.” Ginoki felt Shizuku stiffen a bit behind him.

“He loved robots every bit as much as I do.” The mechanic said in a low voice. “A brat who would sneak in to tinker with machines. When I think back now, that might’ve been the happiest time of my life. Back then, I tinkered with robots because I loved them. But ever since people started calling me the greatest inventor in Edo and such, robots just became a means to an end.” He placed his cup down on the table.

“That son of mine rebelled against me for that and left me. And that was it.” he paused before he looked at Gintoki next to him. “That reminds me, I heard from Otose that you went to war, too.”

“It wasn’t anything grand.” Gintoki replied with a low voice before his eyes looked down on the table.

“Though, I still lost many friends.”

Behind him, he felt Shizuku push her fingers through his white hair and rested her hand on his head. The girl said nothing.

Gintoki sighed before he closed his eyes, slightly leaning in on Shizuku’s gently touch.

“Don’t you want to avenge them?” Hiraga suddenly asked. Both Gintoki and Shizuku looked at the mechanic beside them. “Haven’t you ever thought of striking at the Bakufu and the Amanto for the friends you’ve lost?”

“Jii-san, you’re not…”

“Oh, shoot.” Hiraga cut off Gintoki’s words and suddenly stood up. “I have some final adjustments to do, so I’m going back.” He walked towards where Saburo was and called for him. Shizuku and Gintoki was left in the stall on their own.

There was silence between the two people who were left.

Shizuku still had her hand on Gintoki’s hair and the white haired male said nothing when she pulled her hand back.

“Poor Hiraga-san.” Shizuku sighed softly, her voice almost inaudible. She stepped back and away from Gintoki.

“Well, I’m going to go find Nori-san and the others now.” She said mostly to herself before she turned around and walked away.

No one tried to stop her, so she just continued walking.

Back at the stall, Gintoki gritted his teeth as he gripped his cup so hard that it was about to crack.

“Toushi, Sougo hasn’t been back since he said that he had to go take a dump.” Kondou said to Hijikata as he stood beside Kusahara.

“He’s probably wondering around the festival.” Kusahara replied with a sigh.

“Yeah, that bastard’s goofing off again.” Hijikata nodded.

“Toushi, Kusahara-kun, you can doubt anyone else, but not your own.” Kondou suddenly lectured. “I believe in Sougo. I’m sure he’s having a hell of a time pushing it out. That’s what I believe.”

“If that’s what you’re going to believe, I think he’d be better off of you doubted him.” Hijikata sighed. “But that damned Yamazaki sure is late.” He said as he looked around.

“What happened?” Kondou asked the dark haired male beside him.

“The Shogun said he wants to eat takoyaki.” Kusahara replied with a small sigh.

“Fukuchou, Kusahara-taichou! I have returned!” Yamazaki’s voice suddenly came from the side, making the others turn to his direction.

“You’re late!” Hijikata scolded. “You better have had them put mayonnaise on it!” when he opened the box that Yamazaki gave him, only three pieces of takoyaki was left inside.

“Uh, Yamazaki-san?” Kusahara asked as he looked at the box that Hijikata was holding. “Where’s the rest of the takoyaki?”

“Actually, I was in such a rush that I tripped and they fell out on the way back” Yamazaki replied with stern eyes. “Forgive me. I Yamazaki Sagaru, have made a blunder that I will regret my entire life.”

“I see.” Hijikata nodded with dead eyes. “I thought that the green nori flakes around your mouth was the blunder that you’d regret your entire life.”

Yamazaki’s suddenly widened and he started to run away.

“Yamazaki!” Hijikata threw the takoyaki box at Kondou and began chasing after the shorter male. He hit Yamazaki’s head multiple times before Hijikata repeatedly stomped on his body with a heavy foot.

“Fukuchou, this isn’t what you think!” Yamazaki breathed out. “This is the green nori from the okonomiyaki I ate along the way!”

“It doesn’t matter!” Hijikata yelled back before he delivered the final blow. “Hey, what are going to do?” he asked as he turned around, only to see Kondou eating the rest of the takoyaki.

“Kondou-san, that’s for the Shogun.” Kusahara said weakly, clearly having no strength to become the straight man anymore.

“Don’t get so upset.” The Shinsengumi Chief said. “Today is the festival.”

“I can’t help it.” Hijikata answered with a glare. “That bastard Takasugi has no political beliefs at all. He only enjoys creating chaos. There’s no way a guy like that is going to overlook a huge festival like this.”

Kusahara hummed in response but he didn’t say anything.

The sudden sounds of fireworks alerted the three males, making them sharply look towards the stage to see Hiraga Gengai standing there with a robot next to him.

Far from the Shinsengumi’s spot in front of the Shogun’s tent, Gintoki looked up at the sky, watching fireworks explode up high in the air.

“A festival has to be loud to be interesting, that’s for sure.”

Gintoki gritted his teeth as he reached for his bokuto, only to stop when he heard the person behind him pull out his sword, telling him not to move. The man behind him chuckled.

“To think the man they called Shiroyasha would let someone attack him from behind.” He said lowly. “Gintoki, have you lost your edge?”

“What’re you doing in a place like this, Takasugi?” Gintoki asked as he slightly looked behind him and looked the the person in his peripheral vision.

“Just shut up and watch.” The man behind him, Takasugi, replied. “An incredibly fun show is about to begin.”

Back with the Shinsengumi, Kusahara looked towards the stage and suddenly saw the robot beside the mechanic was pointing his arm at their direction.

“Kondou-san, is it me or is the robot is looking at us?” the teal haired male cautiously asked the older male standing beside him.

A blast directed towards the Shinsengumi abruptly echoed in the air.

The three officers ducked out just in time, letting their bodies press against the ground. Smoke filled the area, preventing everybody from seeing the things around them. Almost immediately, Kondou yelled at Kusahara.

“The Shogun, Kusahara-kun!”

“On it!” Kusahara yelled back before he pushed himself off from his position and went past the smokescreen before he dashed up the Shogun’s tower and began escorting the Shogun and his servants out, vaguely aware that his Division members were already rushing up the tower to help him.

“Everyone, secure the area around the tower!” Hijikata yelled at the Shinsengumi. “Don’t let even a mouse get near the Shogun as Kusahara escorts him out!”

Robots suddenly filed out from the smoke and began marching towards the Shinsengumi.

“It’s an army of robots!”

“Men, charge!” Kondou commanded and the Shinsengumi all unsheathed their katanas and began to fight.

Behind the stage, Shizuku ran towards the front, struggling to make her way through the panicking crowd that was running towards the opposite direction.

“I knew it!” she yelled to herself as she pushed her way to get to the other side. She gritted her teeth, already blaming herself for being stupid and not saying anything earlier, back then when she was still helping Hiraga with his robots.

She knew that something was off with the mechanic when she went back to give him Saburo’s arm on the first day that she helped him with his robots.

She knew!

“I should’ve said something!” she yelled to herself inside her head and continued struggling.

“I should have said something!”

Back with Gintoki, he and Takasugi stayed put in their spots as they watched people run around them. The crowd were to panicked to even notice that the two weren’t moving from their spots.

“Do you remember, Gintoki?” Takasugi suddenly asked, keeping his blade near the white haired male’s back. “How I once led a volunteer army called the Kiheitai? There was a man named Saburo. He wasn’t any good with the sword, but he was incredibly good with machines.” He chuckled.

“He said he didn’t join to fight a war, he came to fight his father. His father was all he ever talked about. But he died without ever returning to his father. What a sad story, isn’t it?” Takasugi smirked widely.

“We all risked our lives to protect our country from the Amanto, but the all-important Bakufu quickly welcomed them. Even the Kiheitai was no exception. We were caught in the purge, and eventually was destroyed. When he saw his son’s head exposed for public viewing by the riverside, who knows what his old man thought.”

“Takasugi, were you the one who egged the old man on?” Gintoki asked, looking forwards.

“Egged him on? Don’t be ridiculous.” Takasugi smirked again. “His fangs were already showing. I just polished them.” his broke into a low chuckle.

“You see… I know the suffering that the old man is going through.” He said, making Gintoki look at him through his peripheral vision. “There still remains a black beast of vengeance inside of me, as well. Thrashing about all day and all night, saying in my ear ‘Kill, kill the enemies of my friends. Make them suffer the way we suffered.’ Gintoki, can’t you hear those voices?”

There was a pause.

“Oh, I can hear them, alright.” Gintoki answered with a low voice. “I hear them every time without them ever stopping.” he paused and looked up at the sky.

"But you know what makes me stop myself?”

“Hiraga-san! Please stop!”

Takasugi suddenly stilled at the high pitched voice that rang sharply in the air. Gintoki took it as an opportunity to swing his fist back and punch the purple haired male behind him. Takasugi swiftly dodged the punch and jumped back, retreating in the shadows with an annoyed look on his face.

Gintoki could be seeing things, but he thought he saw Takasugi’s expression shift to pain and despair before he was completely gone from his sight.

The white haired male sighed back before he ran towards the stage, where Shizuku was already talking to Hiraga.

“Hiraga-san, please stop this!” Shizuku stepped in front of the old man and shielded Saburo’s aim towards the Shogun’s tent and the Shinsengumi. She was panting and red in the face, clearly from running around and struggling her way through the crowd just to get to the stage.

“The Shogun has already escaped.” Shinpachi suddenly came beside Shizuku.

“Is that so?” Hiraga asked with no expression on his face. “My eyes are going bad, so I couldn’t see that. Well, that’s okay. Then, I’ll go after that group called the Shinsengumi.”

Shizuku’s eyes widened. “Hiraga-san!” she yelled, holding her closed umbrella tightly.

“Oi, oi.” Gintoki’s voice suddenly came from behind Shizuku and Shinpachi, making them turn around. “That’s quite a dangerous show you’re putting on out here.” The white haired male stood straight while holding on to his bokuto.

“Is it some sort of superhero show? Let me play the hero!”

“You’re not good enough for the role. Out of the way.” Hiraga replied sternly.

“Who’re you to insult the actor when you wrote such a crappy script?” Gintoki asked. “Revenge flicks are so outdated.”

“Hiraga-san, you’re making Saburo-san cry.” Shizuku said as she stepped forwards, her voice soft.

“Which Saburo?” Hiraga asked.

“Both of them.” Shizuku answered with pity in her voice. “Nobody wants something like this, Hiraga-san. You know that better than anyone else.”

“I do know that.” the old man nodded. “But it hurts so much. Letting my son die like that, while this old body continues to live on. I’m tired of living my life just staring at useless things.” he said.

“Actually, I don’t really give a darn about the Shogun’s head. I fully realize that there’s nothing I can do for someone who died. All I want is to live by my principles and die. So get out of my way. I’ll show you no mercy if you get in my way.”

Gintoki suddenly pushed Shizuku towards Shinpachi, who caught her even before she touched the ground.

“I’m not moving.” Gintoki said firmly. “I have principles that I live by, too.”

There was silence between them for a moment before Hiraga commanded Saburo to fire at Gintoki. The white haired male charged without hesitation, and right before he struck Saburo down, the robot lowered his arm in defeat. Gintoki cut him down easily and the robot crashed to the ground.

“Saburo!” Hiraga yelled as he came running towards the fallen robot. “Idiot! Why didn’t you fire?!”

“O – otou-san.” Saburo’s automated voice suddenly came out from his speakers. It was cracking, like he was crying. “I loved… watching you work… happily on your robots… all covered in… grease. Like a kid… playing, all covered… in mud… having so much… fun… I loved you… like that…”

Saburo’s eyes suddenly lost its light.

Shizuku stood beside Gintoki as she silently gripped her umbrella tight, watching Hiraga cry in front of them.

“What is it with all of you, people?!” the mechanic cried. “What do you want me to do?!” he yelled at the robot. “How do you expect me to go on living?!”

There was silence.

“Beats me?” Gintoki replied as he looked up at the sky. He placed a large hand on top of Shizuku’s head, letting his hand gently comb through her teal hair. The girl said nothing.

“Just live a long life, maybe? That always worked for me.”

Takasugi stared at the wanted poster in front of him, his face filled with annoyance.

“Looks like you failed.” Katsura’s voice suddenly came from behind him, making him turn around to face the dark haired male.

“We had unexpected interference.” Takasugi replied in a low voice. “I thought he lost his fangs a long time ago, but, boy was I wrong.”

“When it’s to protect something, everyone bares their fangs.” Katsura said while shaking his head. “You, who have nothing to protect, are nothing more than a beast, Takasugi.” He paused before he looked at the slightly shorter male.

“But now, maybe you-,”

Takasugi chuckled, cutting of the slightly taller male’s sentence. “I’m fine being a beast.” He said. “I have nothing to protect, nor do I need one.” He said with a sharp glare before he started walking away with his hat pulled down.

“I will simply destroy everything until the beast in me stops whining.”

A sudden high pitched voice softly chimed in the air.

“Katsura-san!”

Katsura watched as Takasugi kept on walking with his head hung low as he passed by Shizuku, who was smiling happily while running towards Katsura, clearly not paying any attention to anything except for the dark haired male.

It seemed like the dark haired male watched the whole scene in slow motion until Takasugi completely passed Shizuku.

“Katsura-san, it’s nice to see you again.” The teal haired girl beamed as she looked up at the taller male.

“Shizuku, it’s nice to see you again, too.” Katsura replied with a smile, taking his eyes off of where he was previously looking at.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw a shade of purple stop moving for a moment, staying still at its spot, before it continued moving away again. Soon, it was completely gone from his vision.

Katsura suddenly had a look of pity in his face and he knew exactly why.

“Katsura-san?” Shizuku tilted his head at the side as she watched to older male look down at her.

“Don’t mind me.” the dark haired male replied with a smile as he placed a gentle hand over the young girl’s cheek and began to softly thumb her skin. Shizuku seemed confused for a moment, but she didn’t make a move to step away from the touch.

Katsura dropped his hand and began walking away.

“Unfortunately, I cannot stay long, so I’ll see you around, Shizuku.”

“Okay…?” Shizuku answered as she blinked a couple times before she turned around and went to kneel in front of Hiraga, who was sitting on the side of the road, selling mechanical toys to the kids of Edo.

“Hiraga-san, how are you today?”

“Oh, Shizuku, here to keep me company again?”

Katsura smiled under his hat.

“The old man seems happy.”

He started to walk away.

“Shizuku looks happy, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	16. There are many things that count as consent

* * *

_XIII_

_Manga:_ _Lesson_ _55_

_Anime: Episode 39_

* * *

OKITA blew on his whistle as he raised his hands in front of him.

“Just a minute. Just a minute.” He said while still keeping his whistle in between his lips. “Okay, stop.” Beside him, Kusahara watched as a man riding a bicycle stopped in front of them.

Instantly, the teal haired male noticed something about him that looked familiar.

“You’re in violation, mister.” An officer from the First Division said from beside the man on the bicycle as he placed his hands on his hips.

“You’re supposed to have a lantern when riding at night.” Kusahara nodded at his fellow officer. “Let’s see…” he said as he approached the man on the bicycle.

“Is this bicycle registered for theft prevention?” he asked, looking up at the man, who kept his head low as he covered his face with his hat.

“I’m not sure. I got this from a friend.” The man answered.

Immediately noticing the voice, Kusahara paled.

“It’s Katsura-san.” He said to himself, cautiously glancing at Okita, who was tilting his head to the side as he looked at the man. Even from that single movement, Kusahara knew that the younger male was slowly beginning to analyze the man.

“This is bad. Out of all the times I was partnered with Okita-kun on a patrol, he just had to show up tonight.” Kusahara cursed to himself.

“I see. Are you on your way home from shopping?” Okita asked as he moved behind Katsura’s bicycle. Kusahara sighed in relief, thinking that the younger male still didn’t notice that it was Katsura

“Excuse me, can I go now?” Katsura cautiously asked. “I’m kind of busy.” He said. Before Kusahara could say that he could continue on, the First Division officer beside him cut him off.

“We’ve had a lot of underwear burglaries around here recently.” He said. “Don’t you know? The Masked Phantom Loincloth burglar broke out of prison again.”

“I prefer trunks.” Katsura replied with a low voice. “Bye.” He said and he went off.

“Hang on, buddy, do you have any ID?” Okita asked with his usual deadpanned tone. “Oi, nii-chan!”

At the same time, Katsura’s hat fell off, completely exposing his identity.

“Okita-taichou! That long hair!” the officer beside Kusahara yelled. The teal haired male didn’t question anything when he turned around and saw Okita pulling out his bazooka from the car.

“Found you, at last!” the brunet yelled, placing his bazooka on his shoulder before firing, the shot barely missing Kusahara’s stomach by an inch. Something exploded a few meters away from where they were.

“Hey, give a warning shot to your comrades!” Kusahara yelled, smacking the younger in the head before turning around to rush towards the remains of Katsura’s bicycle. Knowing the older male, Kusahara knew that he escaped that shot easily, but seeing the blood that was on the ground, he knew that Katsura was injured.

“Well, shit.”

“Kusahara-san, call out your Division and let’s search the perimeter.” Okita said from behind the tall male, undoubtedly seeing the same patch of blood that Kusahara was seeing on the ground.

Playing along, Kusahara nodded before he took out his walkie-talkie from his inner blazer pocket and began calling out to his team. “Second Division, Katsura has been sighted in XXX street. He has taken a bit of damage, so he won’t run far. Form a perimeter of two-hundred meters away from the street.” He ordered while nodding to Okita, who was also giving orders to his own Division through his own walkie-talkie. They both started running and looking around.

“I will join the First Division on the streets, don’t let anyone in or out, you got that?” Kusahara commanded to his squad through his walkie-talkie.

“Yes, sir!” a variety of voices chorused before Kusahara pocketed the device that he was holding and started looking around, praying that he would locate Katsura before any of the other officers do – before Okita spots him first.

Quite a distance away from the site where he was almost blown to pieces, Katsura limped towards a narrow alleyway where he sat quietly beside a dumpster. He was used to getting injured – by Okita, no less – but he still cursed himself in his head. He pulled on his feet to make himself smaller, paying no mind to the injury that he had on one of his feet. A little while later, rapid footsteps came to his hearing and immediately, he thought that they were Shinsengumi officers.

“Katsura, come out peacefully.” One of them called out.

“We’re not letting you get away!” another one said. “Give it up!”

“Kusahara-taichou and Okita-taichou said that he’s injured, so he couldn’t have gone far!”

Katsura waited with his body tense and stiff. At some point, he even started to restrict his breathing. When the Shinsengumi officers started to move away, he slowly let himself relax.

“Hey.”

Katsura stiffened at the sudden voice that came from his left. He stood, ready to fight the person who snuck up on him, but he relaxed slightly when he saw Kusahara standing there with his hands crossed over his chest.

“Seriously, Katsura-san, you need to get better at your timing.” The tall teal haired male said with a sigh. “And try not to show up in front of Okita-kun; he will skin you alive, seriously. That’s not even a joke. He will really do it and will have fun hearing you scream. Maybe he’ll even record everything and post it on the Dark Web.”

“Kusahara-kun, it’s you.” The dark haired male sighed in relief before he rested himself against the wall behind him.

“That’s quite an injury there, Katsura-san.” Kusahara said as he pointed at Katsura’s foot. “I would say that I’m surprised you got this far in running with that, but I know that you wouldn’t be put down with that meager wound.”

“I appreciate the thought, Kusahara-kun.” Katsura replied with a huff. “What will you do now?” he asked as he turned to the slightly younger male.

“What do you mean?” Kusahara slightly tilted his head to the side.

“You’re a Shinsengumi officer – uniformed, no less – and I am a Joui Roushi, surely that Gorilla Chief of yours isn’t going to let this slip if he finds out that you’re talking to me. Shizuku would get dragged down with you, too.”

Before Kusahara could answer, Okita’s voice came from the teal haired male’s walkie-talkie.

“Kusahara-san, Kusahara-san.” The brunet called, his voice a bit distorted because of the static.

“I’m here, Okita-kun.” Kusahara answered while keeping his eyes on Katsura’ who was already getting ready to dash away from the younger male.

“Have you seen him?” Okita asked with a slight huff, indicating that he was running.

“No, not yet.” Kusahara answered, earning a questioning raise of a brow from Katsura. “I’m in an alleyway at XXX street. I’m not sure if this is where he stopped by, but I see blood. It looks fresh.”

“I’ll be there in two minutes.” With that, Okita shut off his walkie-talkie.

“You heard him.” Kusahara said as he placed his walkie-talkie back on his pocket. “Two minutes is enough for you to climb up the wall and into the roof.” He looked up and gestured to the wall.

“Are you helping me because I helped save your life twelve chapters ago?” the slightly older male asked as he got up on the dumpster to give himself a boost.

“That, yes.” the teal haired male nodded. “And also because Shizuku would kill me. No joke ther, either.”

Katsura stopped pulling himself up on the wall to look down at the male on the ground.

“Does she fina-,”

“Kusahara-taichou!”

“Get going.” Kusahara hissed, looking at the owner of the voice that came from the entrance of the alley way. Not a second later, he pushed Katsura’s uninjured foot up, successfully getting the dark haired male on the roof.

“Over here!” Kusahara yelled as he straightened himself, immediately pretending that he didn’t see Katsura at all.

“Kusahara-san, where is he?” Okita asked as he came up from behind the taller male.

“There’s a pool of blood here.” Kusahara replied while pointing at the ground in front of him. “There’s a trail up the dumpster, but I checked the roof and he wasn’t there.” he said, gesturing up to the roof.

“He was ahead, then.” Okita answered before ordering the officers with them to surround the area.

Kusahara prays to anyone out there that Katsura, somehow, found a way to escape by himself. He doesn’t want to tell Shizuku that one of her closest friends just got himself executed and that Kusahara was the one who helped haul him in.

“I’m off to town, Ane-san!” as usual, Shizuku called from the door as she pulled up her long socks and placed her sandals on.

“Have a safe trip!” Tae called back before Shizuku walked out the door and began walking with her umbrella covering her from the sunlight. It was a bright and sunny day, and Shzuku thought that it was a good idea to walk around down to get to know her surroundings better since the only place that she actually ever visits was the marketplace, half of Kabuki-chou, and the area around the Shinsengumi headquarters.

That and because the Author lacks imagination and is too tired to think of other openings.

Shizuku walked around for a bit, checking out the stores that she was intrigued with. She had passed by a few Shinsengumi officers who greeted her when they saw her. Because she visits the Shinsengumi headquarters often when she brings clothes for Kusahara, or when she just wants to pass by, Shizuku have gotten pretty close to her cousin’s coworkers and even made friends with them. Now, they greet each other often when they meet.

After a few hours of walking, she passed by the bridge near Kabuki-chou. She was looking at the river underneath the wooden walkway, completely satisfied by how it was moving. Later, she started walking again while looking around the area. A few minutes after she got out of the area near the river, Shizuku saw a certain trio of Shinsengumi officers sitting down in a Dango shop.

“Aren’t those Hijikata-san, Nori-san and Okita-san?” she asked herself as she stopped in her tracks, looking at the three talk to each other while eating. “They must be on a small break.” Shizuku said to herself as she held on her umbrella and looked down on the ground, kicking little rocks as she walked. After a few steps towards the three, someone suddenly lifted her umbrella and made her look up.

“Okita-san, hello!” Shizuku smiled brightly at the sight of red eyes. “I was just on my way to greet you.” She said as she looked past the taller male.

Suddenly, the Dango shop that the three Shinsengumi officers were in just exploded.

“Nori-san! Hijikata-san!” Shizuku gasped as she prepared herself to run towards the shop, only for Okita to hold her back by grabbing her wrist.

“Relax, they’re fine.” The brunet said with a smirk on his face. Immediately, Shizuku’s expression deadpanned.

“That was you?!” she shrieked before she repeatedly hit the taller male with her closed umbrella. “Seriously, Okita-san, stop trying to kill them!”

“Hey, hey, wait! You’re trying to kill _me!_ ” Okita huffed out before Shizuku stopped hitting the older male, making him stand up straight as he dusted his uniform to get rid of dirt.

“Wow, I never thought that you have a violent side on you.” Okita said with a smirk.

“What are you talking about, Okita-san?” Shizuku raised a brow, momentarily forgetting that Hijikata and Kusahara were just blown up behind her. “I only do this to certain people.”

“Oh?” Okita hummed while rubbing his head. “So I’m one of those certain people, then? Wow, special.” he slightly cheered.

“By certain people, I mean the people who act stupidly in front of me, so, yes.” Shizuku gave a slight glare before turning around. Before she could take a step forwards, Okita grabbed her by the arm again and lightly pulled her back, sending her slightly stumbling against him.

“Come on, younger Kusahara, let me have my fun.” The taller brunet said before he gestured to the two taller males who were limping their way towards Okita and Shizuku.

“And what, exactly, do you mean by fun?” the teal haired girl asked before she looked towards the blown up Dango shop.

“Okita-kun.” Both Hijikata and Kusahara sang at the same time, not bothering to pat down their afro hair. “Let’s play.” They singsonged while pulling out their swords.

“I mean, that.” Okita said and began running towards the other direction, letting go of Shizuku and dashing away at the speed of light. Kusahara and Hijikata passed by the young girl without a second thought and began sprinting towards Okita, both of them shouting at the top of their lungs.

“I will kill you!”

Shizuku sighed. “Well, so much for greeting them.” she said before she walked again, deciding that they will be fine. She continued her leisurely trip around town.

After a few hours, when the sun was just about to start setting, her stomach started grumbling and just coincidentally, she was in front of a Ramen Shop. Shizuku remembered that Gintoki always said that there was a good ramen place near Kabuki-chou and he said that Shizuku should try it out sometime. Thinking that it was the shop that the older male was talking about, Shizuku went inside.

“Excuse me.” she said shyly, peeking her head inside the shop. When she looked around, she was surprised to see a familiar face there.

“Katsura-san!” she shrieked as she went inside the shop and snapped the door close behind her. She was aware that it was rude for the shop owner, but she couldn’t exactly show the world outside that a wanted Joui Roushi was inside a ramen shop. Not when there are officers patrolling the streets.

“Oh, Shizuku, it’s nice to see you.” Katsura greeted, seemingly not bothered by the slightly panicked expression on Shizuku’s face.

“Katsura-san, what are you doing here?!” the girl asked, peering through the side of the window next to her. There seemed to be no officers there at the moment. She sighed.

“What do you mean?” Katsura asked, gesturing to his bartender uniform. “I work here.”

“You work here?” Shizuku’s voice softened. “You do know that the Shinsengumi are looking for you, right?”

“I am aware, yes.” the dark haired nodded his head. “I am laying low here for the time being.”

“Does the owner know about you being…. You know...? A Joui Roushi?” Shizuku asked, looking around, noticing that they were the only ones inside the shop. Katsura didn’t answer because somebody suddenly came from the back of the shop. A tall. blond woman stood behind the counter.

“Oh, a customer?” the woman asked with a bright smile on her face. “Hey, what are you doing? Let her sit down.” She said to Katsura.

“H – hello.” Shizuku greeted with a bow before Katsura led her towards the counter, pretending that he didn’t know her. Immediately noticing and playing along, Shizuku sat down and fixed her posture.

“I was told that this was a good place to eat.” She said while looking at the menu.

“I recommend having a bowl of Soba, miss.” Katsura said from the side.

“Eh? But I don’t see Soba on the menu.” Shizuku replied, looking at the menu again just to be sure.

“Hey, what is it with you and Soba?” the shop owner asked Katsura with a slight glare before she stepped back and sighed. “Would you like some, little girl?” she asked Shizuku.

“Can I really have some?” the teal haired girl asked, her eyes widening slightly.

“To tell you the truth, I’ve been researching how to do it.” the shop owner chuckled. “Would you like to try one of my experiment bowls? Rest assured, they’re edible.” She said with a smile.

“If it’s not too much to ask, then sure.” Shizuku nodded before she settled down. Katsura excused himself to go to the bathroom, leaving the two girls alone in the shop.

“Does he usually recommend Soba to people, Shop owner-san?” Shizuku asked the shop owner as she waited for her bowl.

The blonde woman chuckled. “Call me Ikumatsu.” She said before she turned around. “Not usually, no, but he did say that he liked Soba. I just thought that it wa-,”

The shop door roughly opened, gaining the two girls’ attention.

“I’m sorry for the slight delay, miss, Ikumatsu-dono. It was so big that I couldn’t pu-,” Katsura stepped out of the bathroom and looked around, slightly shocked to see both Shizuku and Ikumatsu missing form their spots.

“Huh, where did they go?” he asked himself as he stepped towards the counter. He frowned slightly when he saw something scribbled on a piece of paper on top of the table.

_“The girl left because of an urgent call. Watch the store. I have to make a delivery.”_

“I thought Shizuku was here because she was hungry.” Katsura frowned, looking at the note. “Besides, it’s not like her at all to not say goodbye, even if I was in the comfort room.” He looked around.

“I can’t stay here for much longer.” He said to himself. “I can’t hurt Ikumatsu-dono. She makes me question myself.” He prepared himself to leave, only for him to stop at the door when he saw Shizuku’s umbrella abandoned on the floor.

“Why is her umbrella here?” Katsura muttered, picking up the discarded blue umbrella on the ground. Thinking that the younger girl forgot her umbrella in her rush out the shop, Katsura decided to just give it to her when he had the time. The dark haired male stepped out of the shop. He stopped when he saw a familiar bike parked outside of the shop.

“Why is Ikumatsu-dono’s delivery bike here…?”

Katsura looked at the umbrella in is hand and then back to the bike, then back to the umbrella.

Shizuku pulled on her restraints, trying to get them lose. Behind her, Ikumatsu was doing the same, trying to remove the rope that tied her hands. The younger girl tried hard to push the cloth that was over her mouth so she could scream out loud for everyone outside to hear about their kidnapping.

“Hey, are you sure it’s okay to sell off your sister-in-law?” Shizuku heard one of their captors ask.

“She said it herself, she’s no relative of mine!” Shizuku heard the other one answer. “I gave her plenty of chances to do right to me, but she wouldn’t pay. Time to cash out my investment. Then I’ll sell the shop.”

“How about the other girl?” the first guy asked. “She doesn’t look a day over fifteen. What are you going to do to her?”

“Maybe I’ll sell her off to someone, or maybe I’ll keep her to myself.” The other answered, evidently, with a smirk on his face. “She was at the wrong place at the wrong time. We had no choice to get her, too. Besides, who wouldn’t like a petite body like that?” he chuckled loudly, making Shizuku growl lowly, eager to get her hands around the man’s neck.

“Both of them ought to bring enough to pay for a good spree.” The first guy said with a chuckle. Inside the Palanquin they were holding, Ikumatsu and Shizuku struggled with their backs against each other, still trying to undo each other’s binds.

“What’re you talking about?” the second guys asked. “These funds are for the rebellion.”

“Yeah, right. You’ll lose it all to gambling!” the first guy replied.

Shizuku struggled harder. She felt the palanquin stop abruptly when she heard the sharp sound of a whistle outside.

“Alright, just a minute, guys. Hold on a minute!”

“That’s Okita-san’s voice!” Shizuku’s eyes widened as she thought in her head. “He must be on patrol!”

“We’re looking for a rebel terrorist who’s been seen around here.” The voice of another officer came into Shizuku’s ears. “I’m sure you’re eager to cooperate.”

“What’re you guys doing? Are you on the job?” Shizuku heard Okita ask. The young girl started to move to the side, trying to make as much movement as possible to get the older male’s attention. “Mind if we take a look inside?”

“Yes, look inside!” Shizuku almost screamed, but with the gag over her mouth, she could only manage to let out a struggled noise. It was drowned out when their captors started to run away.

“Yikes! What’re the Shinsengumi doing here?!” their captors yelled while running. “If they find out, they’ll arrest us! Hurry!”

“I’ve got no choice, then!” Shizuku thought to herself as she pushed herself to the side, preparing to fall out of the palanquin. Ikumatsu seemed to understood the idea, so she helped push Shizuku out to get the attention of the Shinsengumi.

“This will hurt, but oh well!”

Okita was already getting ready to rush towards the two people holding the palanquin, but he stopped when someone in a bike rushed past the him, making his eyes widen.

“Katsura!” the brunet yelled loudly. Before he could get his bazooka, he saw a girl fall from inside the palanquin and crash on the ground before rolling roughly. Immediately recognizing the teal hair and the blue and purple kimono, Okita dropped his bazooka and rushed towards where Shizuku was curling on the ground.

“Oi, call reinforcements and Kusahara-san!” the brunet yelled to his subordinate as he kneeled beside Shizuku.

“Why are you tied up?” he asked the younger girl, his voice a little louder than usual as he removed the gag over Shizuku’s mouth. “I didn’t know you were into that stuff.” He said, his voice slowly going back to his normal tone.

He suddenly stopped moving his hands in mid-air, debating whether or not he would remove the binds around the younger girl’s body.

“Leave me out of your fantasies, Okita-san.” Shizuku glared before she looked at the direction of Katsura and her captors. “There’s another person inside that palanquin. We were kidnapped.”

At the same time, Okita’s subordinate was there to hear what Shizuku said and immediately went towards the direction of Shizuku’s captors.

Shizuku struggled to kneel in front of Okita before the older male – reluctantly – removed the younger girl’s restraints. “You know; I would’ve left you tied up. You look good.” he whispered near her ear, pulling out Shizuku’s restraints on her feet.

Ignoring what he said, Shizuku looked over her shoulder while holding her bruised wrist. “Again, please leave me out of your fantasies.” she said with a sigh.

“Thanks, Okita-san.” She smiled before she faced forwards and attempted to stand, only to crash back down on the rough ground. Shizuku hissed loudly as she inspected her body, looking at the various bruises and scratches on her pale skin.

She blushed furiously when Okita came crouching in front of her while lifting her arms up, also inspecting her body and pressing the sleeve of his uniform on one of the cuts on her neck that was bleeding.

“O – Okita-san!” the young girl squeaked, undeniably caught off guard.

“Considering that small body of yours, I’m surprised that you didn’t get any broken bones from your fall.” Okita replied with a deadpanned expression on his face, looking at Shizuku’s wounds. “This seems to be the full extent of it.” he hummed before standing, turning around and crouching back down.

“What are you doing, Okita-san?” Shizuku asked, looking at Okita’s back. The brunet said nothing as he patted on his shoulder. Finally realizing what the older male was doing, Shizuku asked, “Are you sure, Okita-san?” the brunet gave a hum.

Thinking that she doesn’t have much of a choice, Shizuku crawled nearer to Okita and got on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. A second later, the brunet stood, hooking his arms around the younger girl’s thighs and pulling her up.

“Don’t you dare strangle me, younger Kusahara.” Okita warned with a low voice before he started to slowly walk back towards the patrol car that was quite a distance away from them.

“I thought you were going to catch Katsura-s – Katsura?” Shizuku asked as she rested her chin on her arm, settling her head next to Okita’s.

“I would’ve left you back there, but we both know that I won’t catch him, anyway.” the older shrugged. “And besides, I have other things planned right now.” he said, slightly looking over his shoulder to meet the younger girl’s eyes.

Shizuku chuckled before she smiled softly.

“Thank you, Okita-san.”

“Okita-kun! Get your filthy, sadistic hands off of Shizuku!”

“Kusahara-san, you totally ruined the moment. I was supposed to surprise her by bringing her to my torture chamber. She even consented to it. Oh well, I’ll just bind her again so she won’t escape, then.”

“Okita-san! I told you to leave me out of your fantasies! And when did I give consent?!”

“You willingly rode my back, younger Kusahara, that counts.”

“Okita-san!”

“Get back here with Shizuku, Okita-kun! You sadistic bastard! Okita-kun! OKITA SOUGO!”

* * *

_ TELL US, SHIZAKURA-SENSEI!! _

Alright everyone, we have a question from Anonymous-san.

First!

Question: "Will you be able to write different endings??🥺"

Answer: The Author is still thinking about it. For now, everyone gets to interact with our main characters and since Gintama is a long Manga so there's still a lot of scenes and events for interactions. A decision will have to be made towards the middle of the story, probably.

Next, we have a question from Wish_I_Was_Orochimaru

Question: "Is Shizuku really a human?"

Answer: Yes, yes she is. She is born to two very human parents and is human. Yes, she is human. Absolutely, she's human. Totally, she's human. She's human.

Alright, that's the only time we've got, so see you all in the next chapter!

Remember, some of your questions will appear at the end of chapters just like this one, so ask away in the form provided in the notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	17. You know the story; Demons can be kindhearted and Sadists can be...?

* * *

_XIV_

_Manga: Lesson 42-44_

_Anime: Episode 27_

* * *

“IN the red corner, the housewife who junked her marriage and found her place on the battlefield, the Demoness Haruna!”

Shizuku sighed from her spot as she looked at a tall woman in a short purple kimono standing in the middle of a battle ring in front of her. “Why are we here, again?” she asked as she looked to her left, where Gintoki stood with an unamused expression on his face.

“Because of that?” the tall white haired male replied while pointing to the blue corner’s fighter.

“In the blue corner, this lady, a former popular singer-turned hitting star, the fighting princess of song, Dynamite Otsu!” the announcer said loudly over the microphone, causing Shizuku to sigh again.

She was told earlier that day that the Yorozuya were going out to watch Otsu, the popular idol that Shinpachi has long since fawned over, and that they wanted to invite Shizuku to watch with them. She expected a small outdoor concert or something, but she didn’t expect an outdoor fighting ring. Well, it was a way to spend her unused time, so she just went with it.

“Otsu-chan, go!” Shinpachi yelled along with his fellow fans, the Imperial Terakado Tsuu army.

“No, no. She better stop…” Gintoki commented with his bored voice. “She’s going in the wrong direction.”

“Otsu-chan, popular singer-turned fighter!” Shinpachi raised his voice with a glare plastered on his face. At the same time, the bell rang, signaling the start of the fight.

“When a person says something like that, it’s a warning sign.” Gintoki replied, glancing at Shinpachi for a moment before looking back at the arena. “My favorite ramen shop said, ‘curry rice will be a new menu item.’ After that, the shop had to close.”

“Eh?” Shizuku piped from beside the tall male. “Did Ikumatsu-san close up shop?” she asked.

“No, no. It’s the previous shop that I liked before Daigo ramen.” Gintoki shook his head, making Shizuku nod.

“What a bad example, Gin-san! That won’t be the case for Otsu-chan. She’ll keep singing!” Shinpachi growled from in front of Gintoki and Shizuku.

“I think there’s a sign of misfortune on her face.” The oldest among the three said. “Too bad she’s not more naïve or stupid. Like you, Kagura.” Shizuku jabbed the taller male in the ribs, causing him to yelp.

The teal haired girl slightly glared up at Gintoki. “Don’t say things like that, Gin-san.” She said lowly before her smile returned back on her face. “Kagura-chan, don’t let him bother you, alright?”

“What is a dream?” Kagura suddenly asked from beside the two, clearly ignoring the two of them completely. “So painful to wait for… so terrible to be without… and, yet, to battle your way toward it along that thorny road… Take’s a warrior’s courage!!”

Kagura suddenly jumped from the bleachers and into the middle of the arena despite Shizuku’s yell to stop her when the older girl noticed what she was doing.

“What the?! There’s an intruder in the ring! Who is she?” the announcer yelled loudly.

“Oh, no. Whatever happens, it’s not my fault.” Gintoki said as he narrowed his eyes and bent down, grabbing Shizuku’s wrist beside him.

“Not mine, either.” Shinpachi nodded before he went down the bleachers with Gintoki following behind him while the older male pulled Shizuku along. “You need to discipline her better. That’s why she’s like that.” Shinpachi said to his boss.

“Gin-san, should we just leave Kagura-chan alone?” Shizuku asked, stepping in line with the taller male as they passed by the sides of the bleachers. She opened up her blue umbrella to protect herself from the sun. “She might get hurt.” She said to the older.

“What are you talking about?” Gintoki asked while letting go of the girl’s wrist. “If anything, I’m more worried about that opponent of hers. Kagura will show her who’s the real demoness.”

“Haruna, come on! You dumped your husband because you wanted more excitement, right?!”

Shizuku, Shinpachi and Gintoki stopped at the sound of a familiar voice coming from the bleachers. The youngest among them looked up and saw a very familiar tuft of light brown hair.

“Okita-san?” Shizuku called, her olive eyes meeting red.

“Oh, younger Kusahara.” Okita blinked before he looked at the Yorozuya behind the younger. “Danna, long time no see.”

Gintoki gave a hum before he pointed at the gates. “Let’s talk by the gates, it’s noisy here.” On cue, Kagura’s yelling voice was heard. A few seconds later, the vermillion haired girl was blown towards Gintoki, who caught her without much of an effort.

“Let’s go.” The older male said and started walking while holding Kagura’s collar. Behind him, Shinpachi followed closely, with Shizuku and Okita walking at the very back. As soon as they settled on the stairs in front of the gate and Okita settled with his back against the gate’s side, the brunet gave a chuckle.

“What a surprise.” He said while crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I didn’t know you guys like watching fighting sports. Especially you, younger Kusahara.” He looked at Shizuku sitting on the stairs, who was tilting her umbrella up to see the standing male.

“I was dragged into it.” Shizuku sheepishly chuckled.

“Well, I especially like seeing women fight.” Okita replied while looking at the Yorozuya. “When they make those gnarly faces and grab each other, I just bust up!”

“That’s not fandom, that’s sadism!” Shinpachi yelled at the older male from beside Shizuku.

“Now, now, no need to fight.” Shizuku said from in between the two males and calmed Shinpachi down.

“You shouldn’t laugh at someone who’s trying hard!” Kagura huffed from beside Gintoki. “Someone like you, who interrupts a match shouldn’t be allowed to watch fighting sports.”

The older male beside her suddenly bonked her on the head.

“Stop saying that.” Gintoki said as he closed his eyes. “It’s obvious that you were interrupting the match.” Shizuku chuckled before she watched Okita step down on the stairs beside her.

“By the way, do you have time to go somewhere?” the brunet asked as he turned around. “I’ll take the Yorozuya to a more entertaining show. Although I’d rather not let the younger Kusahara see it. She should stay here, or go home. I don’t really care.”

“A more entertaining show?” Gintoki asked while standing up with the Yorozuya.

“If you come with me, you’ll see.” Okita said before he faced forwards. Before he could take a step down, someone grabbed him by the wrist and by the cold and small size of the hand, he immediately knows who was behind him.

“Why can’t I see it?” Shizuku asked as she tilted her head to the side, her hand wrapped firmly around Okita’s wrist.

“Let’s just say that it’s something that I’d rather you don’t get involved with. Plus, I also don’t want you to tell on me.” The older said while looking over his shoulder, his eyes looking down on a pair of olive ones. “But then again, you’re still recovering from that kidnapping of yours that happened only a chapter ago. I’m not going to lie; I would love to see you get hurt again.”

“Wait, what?!” Gintoki yelled from behind them. “You got kidnapped?!” Shinpachi and Kagura joined in at yelling.

“I’m fine now.” Shizuku said with a smile as she let go of Okita’s wrist while looking behind her to face the Yorozuya. “Wait, does that mean you don’t read the previous chapter? That’s just rude.” She huffed playfully while tightly holding on to her umbrella. The Yorozuya immediately stepped in front of Shizuku before they started inspecting her body.

Behind the teal haired girl, Okita gave a smirk and scoff, earning Shizuku’s attention. “If you’re up for it, you can come along. Just as long as you don’t blame me if something happens to you. Though, you have to tell me if something does happen. I want to get it on camera.” he said before he faced forwards again and began going down the stairs.

“Ah, wait, Okita-san!” Shizuku called before she felt a hand lift her skirt from behind, causing her to immediately shut her umbrella and hit the person behind her.

“Gin-san, don’t be a pervert!” she yelled, hitting Gintoki on the head and satisfyingly watching the white haired male roll down the stairs.

“Oh, look, Gin-san’s already there. He must be eager to see the show that Okita-san’s been talking about.” Shizuku smiled at the two remaining Yorozuya behind her as she opened her umbrella, completely acting like nothing happened. She began walking down the stairs and easily caught up to Okita, who remained silent about the rolling body that he just saw pass by him.

“Shizuku-chan’s sadism is showing fast.” Shinpachi commented with a shaky voice.

“Agreed.” Kagura nodded, her body still slightly shaking from fear.

Both of them slowly descended the stairs, both trying to shake away the chills that ran up their spines.

“Hey, hey. What kind of place is this?” Gintoki asked as they descended down the stairs of a dark building. It had been a while since they’ve started walking and he didn’t expect them to wind up in the underground parts of the city.

“It’s a meeting place for inhabitants of the underworld.” Okita answered while keeping his head forwards and not looking at anybody. “Ordinary people never get a chance to see this.”

“Uh, Okita-san, do you actually go here on a regular basis?” Shizuku slowly called as she looked around the dark and narrow alleyway that they were passing through. Some of the strong looking men around them leered at Shizuku, who, in turn, glared at them, but it didn’t have any sort of effect. One of the men around even tried to advance on her and tried to grab her hand.

Before Okita reached beside him to firmly wrap his hand around Shizuku’s wrist, the younger was pulled back, making him sharply turn to the person who grabbed the teal haired girl. He sighed, subtly hiding his annoyed look, when he saw Gintoki wrap his arm around Shizuku’s shoulder, protectively pulling her closer to him. The tall white haired male had a disgusted look on his face as he looked at the creeps lurking around the alleyway.

“Gin-san, what’s wrong?” Shizuku asked, looking up at the tall male holding her.

“Nothing.” Gintoki replied with an annoyed look on his face as he looked around. “Just stay close.”

“This is why I told you to stay back.” The brunet officer suddenly said from up front, facing forwards once again. “A girl like you isn’t fit for the underground.”

“I would say that’s kind of rude, but aren’t you supposed to be saying that to Kagura-chan?” Shizuku asked as she placed a gentle hand over Gintoki’s arm around her shoulder to sign a thank you. “I mean; technically, she is younger than me.”

“She’s a brute.” Okita commented with a bored voice. “And you’re a young, naive maiden. That’s one hell of a difference, don’t you think?”

“Who are you calling a brute, you perverted sadist?!” Kagura growled as she sent a kick towards Okita, who dodged it effortlessly. He pulled the vermillion haired girl by the collar to prevent her from crashing against the group of thugs that were near their position. He threw Kagura at Shinpachi, who caught her with a bit of a struggle.

“See what I mean?” Okita said to Shizuku while straightening his clothes. “Just don’t look at anyone except forwards.”

Shizuku sighed and nodded. “Okay.” She said before feeling Gintoki remove his arm around her. At the same time, they got in front of a tall staircase and climbed up. There were loud cheers and yells coming from the top. The sounds grew louder and louder as Shizuku and the others climbed. The young girl gasped lightly when she saw what was on top.

“This is…” Gintoki said beside the young girl. “…an underground fighting arena?”

Shizuku’s brows furrowed at the sight of the large square arena lighted up in the middle of the large space. Amantos and humans cheered from all over the place, making Shizuku’s ears ache a bit.

“This is the Rengokukan.” Okita said with a low voice. “What you see before you…” Shizuku watched as the two fighters in the middle of the arena charged at each other. A second later, one already collapsed to the ground, covered in blood.

“…is an honest to god Death match.” Okita continued.

Shizuku scrunched her face up in disgust.

Loud cheers erupted from the people on the bleachers, indicating that a winner was just concluded. “The winner is… Kidomaru!” the announcer yelled, earning more cheers from the crowd.

“It’s hard to believe.” Shinpachi muttered with furrowed brows.

“How often do you get the chance to see a real fight?” Okita asked. “And when you add gambling to it, that’s entertainment.”

Shizuku frowned when she saw Kidomaru, the winning warrior, standing in the middle of the arena while the bloody corpse of the other player was being carried away.

“This is definitely a great show, huh?” Gintoki replied lowly.

“If I can’t sleep tonight, you’ll pay!” Kagura suddenly grabbed Okita by the collar and growled at him.

“Obviously, it’s illegal.” Shinpachi said from beside Shizuku. “Okita-san, aren’t you a government official?” he asked.

“That’s why I can’t do anything.” Okita replied with a deadpanned expression on his face. “There’re some shadowy, political figures behind it.” Shizuku’s frown deepened, realizing why the older male brought the Yorozuya to the arena.

“You mean that government officials are involved, right?” she asked Okita, who nodded at her. “If that’s the case, then one wrong step and it’s goodbye to the Shinsengumi.” She muttered.

“Freelancers like you have it made.” Okita said while fixing his collar, looking at Gintoki in the eyes. Kagura was already getting ready to launch at him again but Shizuku held her back.

“Let me tell you something, I’m not going to work for you.” Gintoki replied while looking at the arena.

“That’s funny.” The younger replied. “I thought that you were a fellow human being. I thought that you hated this crap as much as I do.”

“Everyone would hate this, Okita-san.” Shizuku piped in as she stood beside the taller male. “But you know better than anyone that it’s hard to keep tabs on the government.”

“I know.” The brunet sighed before he gestured to the arena. “But, look at that. Kidomaru is Rengokukan’s strongest fighter. If we, at least, find out what’s up with him, we’ll get a little lead.”

“Oi.” Gintoki glared at the younger male.

“Don’t worry. This is my personal favor.” Okita smiled as he closed his eyes. “It has nothing to do with the Shinsengumi. No one else knows about this place.” He opened his eyes and placed a finger over his lips.

“So, please don’t tell Kondou-san, Hijikata-san, or Kusahara-san about this.”

“Hello, you just dragged Kusahara’s cousin in here.” Gintoki said as he placed his hand on top of Shizuku’s head. “Even if she doesn’t tell him, he will eventually know.”

“That’s why I’m keeping an eye on her. I told you, I don’t want her to tell on me.” Okita replied as he firmly wrapped his fingers around Shizuku’s wrist. “I know that Kusahara-san will stay in the Station for a week, so I’m sending you home so you could stay there for now.”

Okita turned on his heels and began walking away from the Yorozuya trio. Because he was holding Shizuku’s wrist, the younger girl stumbled behind him, trying to get her footing together so she could match the older male’s pace.

“Wait, Okita-san!” Shizuku protested a bit.

“You’re going home.” Okita replied, not looking back at her.

Shizuku sighed, reluctantly giving in before waving back at the Yorozuya. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She called to them before she slightly struggled to walk next to the taller brunet.

“You’re really not going to keep an eye on me for a whole week, right?” she asked the older. “It’s not like I actually going to tell on you. I’m not that loose, Okita-san.”

“That depends.” Okita shrugged, pulling her closer when they got to the alleyway that they passed on before. “Hijikata-san and Kusahara-san are more perceptive than they look. They might find out about everything tomorrow even if you don’t tell them.” He said as he dragged Shizuku down the stairs.

“But, just to be sure, I’ll keep an eye on you for now.”

Turns out, Hijikata and Kusahara didn’t even take a day to find out that Okita was sneaking behind their backs.

They found out immediately after five hours.

“I just sent the younger Kusahara home and I’m back here, fishing for whales.” Okita sighed.

“The big fish… just isn’t sticking its nose out. All I get are minnows.” He said lowly as he sat on top of a pile of lowly Amantos. “Yet, maybe I went a little overboard?” he asked himself.

“You, sure, worked hard on your day off.” The very familiar sound of Hijikata’s voice came from behind the brunet, making Okita hiss as he looked behind him.

“I thought hard on things that I would skewer you with when I saw you walking Shizuku home. I thought you went out on a date without telling me or something.” Kusahara said from beside Hijikata while wearing a wide smirk on his face. “But I decided not to do it because Hijikata-san was holding me back. Besides, I knew that you wouldn’t actually take Shizuku out on a date. She would totally kick your ass.”

“I didn’t know that you were so dedicated, Sougo.” Hijikata smirked. “You even went through the trouble of making sure that Shizuku wouldn’t tell us.”

“And she did, didn’t she?” Okita sighed as he closed his eyes. “I knew I shouldn’t have brought her there. Maybe I’ll do something about that betrayal.” He muttered to himself.

“No, she didn’t tell us anything.” Kusahara replied while scratching his head. “I just figured it out on my own when I asked her where the two of you went. She just said that she met up with you on your day off. I’ve been with her long enough to know when she’s lying or not.”

“Well, technically, that’s not a lie.” Okita replied with his head tilted to the side. “I coincidentally met her.”

Kusahara said nothing as he sighed. “Anyways, Hijikata-san was with me when I saw you two. We both made a wild guess and we were right when we followed you around for a while. We’re also both on a case about the Rengokukan.”

“So, you know?” the younger male asked with a raise of a brow. “But I thought that the Shinsengumi won’t make a move?” he asked Hijikata.

“We won’t, but we’ll keep an eye on them.” The Vice- Chief replied. “I didn’t want to send out the First Division on this, mainly because you’re the Captain, so I asked Kusahara to secretly work with me.”

It just took one sentence to make Okita sheath out his sword and attack Kusahara, who also thought of the same idea and was already prepared for a blow. They clashed their blades together and stared at each other’s eyes. Behind them, Hijikata just shook his head and pulled the two of them by their collars.

“Come on, Sougo.” The Vice-Chief said as pulled the two officers out from the alleyway. “Let’s go to the station and talk about what you told Shizuku.”

The next day, after Gintoki and the Yorozuya met the true man behind Kidomaru, Gintoki was called in on Battle Royal Host by Okita. Since he had sent the other two to watch over to watch Doushin and the kids, Gintoki went alone. He was a little shocked when he saw Kusahara and Hijikata with Okita inside the restaurant.

After refusing to eat Hijikata’s special katsudon bowl, Gintoki settled beside Kusahara, who was nursing a Katsudon bowl, himself.

“Oh well, let’s get to the main issue.” Hijikata sighed after a while. “I heard that Sougo inspired you into doing something… but forget about it all.”

“What?” Gintoki asked while picking on his nose with his pinky finger. “You sound like you know the whole story. Are you really a big official? Are you sure that you’re going to ignore a crime that’s right under your nose?” he asked as he placed his booger on the mayonnaise on his katsudon.

“We’ll eventually take care of it.” Kusahara replied after finishing his food, drowning out Hijikata’s demand to make Gintoki apologize for disgracing the Hijikata’s special Katsudon bowl.

“Listen, if someone gets unlucky, you’re not the only one going down.” Hijikata said with seriousness as he ate. “All of us will get in trouble. If it really comes down to it, Shizuku will be dragged down along with us and I’d rather commit seppuku than to get an innocent girl get in trouble because of us.”

“I wonder if you’ve already found information.” Okita commented from beside the dark haired male.

“I don’t, but he does.” Hijikata said as he nodded his head at Kusahara’s direction.

“Do you guys know those guys called the Tendoushuu?” Kusahara asked while shifting his eyes between Gintoki and Okita. “They turned the Shogun into a puppet and are remaking this country just the way they like it. They hold the real power in this country. That blood-soaked arena is just the Tendoushuu’s playground. If we were to play in it, we would immediately get beaten up by the older kids even before we could realize that we’re in their territory.”

“Wow, where did you even get this kind of information?” Okita asked with an amused expression on his face. “You’re even better than Yamazaki.”

Kusahara shrugged. “I’m just diligent and resourceful.” He said before his expression suddenly turned dark.

“Trust me when I say that getting our noses inside this case would mean that we could never be free to do anything on our own ever again. Even if we make our own way out of the Tendoushuu’s grasp, we’ll still be tied to them. No matter what we do, we will never get out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	18. Those left alone after a conversation are the ones who know more about the topic

* * *

_XV_

_Manga: Lesson 42-44_

_Anime: Episode 27_

* * *

RAIN poured over Edo as dark clouds covered the sky.

Shizuku was sitting on the couch inside the Yorozuya office with Kagura and Shinpachi sitting on the couch across from her. Beside the teal haired girl, Okita sat, bringing news that clouded the atmosphere even more.

“The man behind Kidomaru, Doushin, was found with the kids from his place late last night. The kids are now all at the station. They’ll be sent to an orphanage soon after the case is over.” The brunet officer informed, settling his arms on his knees.

Shizuku pulled her legs up and pressed her calves at the back of her thighs as she rested her chin on top of her knees. After hearing the story from Okita and the Yorozuya, she couldn’t help but feel bad that she wasn’t there to help them in any way. She knows Kusahara was there, and that he was the one who told Gintoki to stop his investigation. She knows that even the older teal haired male was feeling bad about himself because he couldn’t do the same thing that Shizuku couldn’t do.

“I’m sorry.” Was the only thing that escaped from Shizuku’s mouth as she buried her face in between her knees. Silence followed after her statement.

“Man, I hate the rain.” Gintoki muttered from his chair behind his table. He kept his back towards the others as he placed his hands behind his head. “It’s not a good day to hear a tearjerker story. It’s only the start of the chapter, too. Are you planning on making the readers cry this early? Though, I doubt that anyone will, actually.”

“Sorry, but I figured that you should know.” Okita replied before looking at Shizuku, who was still silently sitting on couch while holding on to her legs, mirroring Kagura’s position from in front of her. “I also knew that the younger Kusahara was here, so I thought that she would want to know what happened to the investigation. After all, Hijikata-san warned her that she should just stay put and to not think of what happened. I figured that Hijikata-san wouldn’t reprimand her if I was the one who came to tell her everything.”

Silence followed.

“Sorry, Gin-chan.” Kagura apologized in a small voice, breaking the silence.

“If only we’d struck with him all the way…” Shinpachi continued with his voice trailing off, obviously feeling terrible.

“It’s not your fault. He was a killer.” Gintoki replied from his chair, keeping his stance of not looking behind him. “I’m sure he was prepared to die that way.”

“Sorry that I got you mixed up in this crap, Danna.” Okita sighed as he stood, grabbing his sheathed katana from beside him. “Let’s leave things where they are. As Kusahara-san said, nothing good will come of getting deeper.” He looked beside him and reached out a hand to Shizuku, making the girl looked at the hand extended towards her. She looked up and met Okita’s eyes.

“Come on, I’ll take you to the station. Kusahara-san’s probably waiting for you there.” the brunet said, his red eyes slightly softer than usual.

Before Shizuku could reach up to take Okita’s hand, the doors suddenly opened, revealing a dozen kids standing there with extremely saddened looks on their faces. They all wordlessly walked inside the Yorozuya office.

“You guys!” Okita slightly raised his voice. “Didn’t I tell you not to come here?” Shizuku suddenly stood to pull Okita’s clothes from the back before he could tell the kids to go back to the station. The older male looked behind him, his red eyes meeting the younger’s pleading olive colored ones. Okita sighed and slightly relaxed. Shizuku’s hands never left his clothes.

“Nii-chan… if we ask you, you’ll do anything right?” the oldest-looking child among the bunch asked as he looked at Gintoki, who was looking over his shoulder to look at the kids. “You’re the Yorozuya, and will do anything we ask, right?”

“Please, avenge Sensei!” the kids suddenly cried together as tears escaped from the corners of their eyes. Shizuku’s face filled with pity as she looked at the kids. She always did have a soft spot for children.

“This is my treasure.” One kid went up to Gintoki and laid a small sticker on his table. At the same time, the oldest-looking child of the bunch placed down a bag from behind him and revealed a bunch of toys spread out on the coffee table in front of Shizuku and the others.

“We don’t have any money, but we’ll give you our treasure.” The oldest-looking child said, standing in between the younger ones. “So, please, nii-chan!”

There was a while of silence.

Okita closed his eyes for a while before he opened them to look at the kids. “That’s enough. It’s time to go home.” He said, his voice softer than usual.

“I already know…” the oldest-looking child muttered. “Sensei did something bad somewhere. Is that why they killed him? But he was our beloved father… a great father, you know!” he cried, trying his best to keep the tears escaping from his eyes to stop.

Shizuku slightly pulled on Okita’s clothes to get his attention. No words were exchanged between the two, but the older seemed to get why the younger called his attention so he didn’t say anything. After a while, Shizuku finally let go of Okita’s clothes as she stepped back, silently clasping her hands together in front of her.

“Hey, kid.” Gintoki suddenly voiced as he picked up the sticker on his table. “Is this one of those Dokkiri-man stickers?”

“That’s right.” The child in front of his table replied in a small voice as he looked up. “How did you know?”

“Why? I’ll tell you why.” Gintoki stood up from his chair and started to walk away. “Because I’m a huge Dokkiri-man collector. I’ll do anything for this one. It’ll be too late if you tell me that you want it back later.”

“Nii-chan!” the child beamed brightly, making the other kids at the back also smile.

“Danna!” Okita called, watching Gintoki move towards the door.

“Gin-chan, are you serious?” Kagura asked as she stood up from her spot.

“I knew you were a whimsical guy, but you’re crazy if you do something like that.”

Hjikata’s voice suddenly came from under the doorway, gaining everyone’s attention. Beside the dark haired male, Kusahara stood with his arms crossed in front of his chest, mirroring Hijikata’s posture. He said nothing, but looked like he got the gist of what was happening.

“There’re really tough people to go up against, especially for a punk like you.” The Vice-Chief of the Shinsengumi continued while closing his eyes. “You’re already dead.”

“I won’t cause you any trouble.” Gintoki said to the older male who stood in front of him with a sour look on his face. “Get out of my way.”

“I don’t care if you die, but you’re not even trying to save yourself?” Hijikata asked, glaring at the younger.

“Even if I don’t go, I’ll die anyway.” Gintoki replied. “I have an organ that’s bigger than my heart. It’s invisible, but it’s all that holds me up. Because of it, I can stand up straight. I can walk straight, even when I’m bleeding and dizzy. If I run now, it’ll tear in half.” He said while walking past Hijikata and Kusahara.

“My soul will tear in half.”

Shizuku and the others watched as Gintoki walked towards the door without looking back. “I’d rather my heart stopped than lost what’s really important to me.” the tall white haired male said. “Even when I’m old and my spine is bent… my soul has got to be straight.” He opened the door and stepped out of the Yorozuya office.

“You’re saying that you’re going to die for your own aesthetic theory? That’s romanticism.” Hijikata sighed lowly.

“What are you saying?” Shinpachi asked in a slightly high voice. “I think all men are romantics.”

“So are women.” Kagura nodded brightly as both she and Shinpachi rummaged through the kids’ toys.

“But is it too unbalanced?” Shinpachi asked before he and Kagura stood up and started walking towards the door while carrying toys with them. “What will happen if all men and all women become stupid?”

“Let’s go find out.” Kagura hummed, passing by the Shinsengumi before going out of the door.

“O – oi, you guys!” Hijikata scolded but the two didn’t listen to him. “What’s the matter with all these people?” he grumbled, obviously pissed.

At the back, Shizuku watched as Okita bent down to grab a toy from the pile on the table. “Really, they’re all crazy.” She heard the brunet say before he stood straight and patted Shizuku on the head before he went towards the door.

“Are they risking their lives for something stupid like this? That’s stupid.”

“Hey, what are you doing?” Hikijata yelled when Okita passed by him.

“I’m sorry, Hijikata-san.” Okita said before turning around, revealing the gag glasses that he had on his face. “I guess I’m just another idiot.”

Hijikata and Kusahara looked at each other before they sighed. “Fine, fine!” the older said loudly before stepping out with Okita, leaving Kusahara alone with Shizuku and the kids.

They were silent for a while, not even the children that were around were making any noise, seemingly noticing the tension in the air. It was the oldest one in the room who broke the silence.

“You know, I expected you to join them.” Kusahara said without taking his eyes off of the open door.

“Well, you’re not wrong; I do want to come with them, but I think that they’re going to be fine.” Shizuku answered from behind Kusahara.

“So, I guess the option of us leaving Edo is out of the table?” the older suddenly asked.

“I’m still not sure...” Shizuku replied in a whisper. “But we can both agree that it’s out of our reach at the moment.”

“Yeah, especially after this incident. We picked a fight that we shouldn’t have.” Kusahara sighed. “You know, I never thought that Gintoki-san would give a speech like than.” the older teal haired male muttered as he ran a hand through his hair. “And about souls, too. Though, it’s kind of fitting.”

Shizuku laughed gently. “Well, his soul really is colored silver, so that’s kind of expected from him.”

Kusahara gave a short chuckle in response.

“Unlike ours?”

“Ours’ plain. It’s nothing dazzling like Gin-san’s.”

There was a while of silence for the nth time that day. This time, after a few seconds, Shizuku was the one who broke it.

“I’ll stay here and take the kids back to the station.” she said as she stepped next to the taller male.

All of a sudden, her voice turned darker and lower, as if she didn’t want the kids to hear her voice.

“Make sure they don’t get into more trouble than they already are.”

Kusahara sighed. “You know that that’s kind of a stretch, but yes, ma’am.” He pushed himself off of the wall and left the Yorozuya to follow the other officers, leaving Shizuku to take care of the kids.

The young girl turned around and faced the younger children behind her. “There, there. It’s alright to cry.” She hushed to them as she kneeled on the floor and took out her handkerchief from under her sleeves. The kids started to go nearer to her, letting her wipe their tears away.

“You know, Onee-chan used to cry a lot like you guys. I was a huge crybaby then. Just know that it’s alright to cry, okay?” Shizuku smiled softly, gently rubbing away the salty tears from the kids’ faces.

“Now, let’s go back to the Station.”

Kusahara and his Division stood on high alert beside Okita and the younger’s own Division. Behind them, Harada and the Tenth Division stood on guard. They all hid under the bleachers as they watched Gintoki fight the new Rengokukan champion. A part of Kusahara was surprised that the white haired male was actually winning against the demon, but then, it’s Gintoki who’s fighting. That man’s a whole demon, himself. A few seconds later, the white haired male pushed the demon and had him crash on his back. All of a sudden, the head of the arena came out and confronted Gintoki.

“Hey, you! How could you?!” the leader growled at the white haired male. “You completely blew up our show! Do you know what kind of place this is? Who are you, anyway?”

Bullets suddenly came their way from the bleachers, where Kagura and Shinpachi stood. All of a sudden, the Yorozuya did a whole introduction sequence that made the Shinsengumi face palm.

“Do they really have to do a team rocket introduction?” Kusahara muttered to Okita, who stared at the arena with a deadpanned expression. The younger didn’t answer, but his eyes turned a little sharper than before.

“This guy’s waiting for a chance to get a bloodbath.” Kusahara said to himself before truning back to face the arena.

“I’ve heard enough!” The leader of the arena growled. “Finish them off!” he commanded to the Amantos behind him, making them charge towards the Yorozuya. They ended up getting beat up by the trio in less than five seconds.

The leader stepped back as he watched his men fall on the ground. “Wh – who are these guys?”

“Okita-kun.” Kusahara suddenly called for the brunet. “Go. I’ll command your Division.” The older watched as Okita nodded and rushed forwards, pointing his sword at the back of the leader’s head.

“Don’t you understand?” Okita asked lowly, keeping his grip on this sword firm. “This is what you call a battle of vengeance. Avenging a killer? There’s nothing to gain. I know that.” his voice lowered.

“But if I don’t do anything now, I won’t be able to live with myself.”

Kusahara slightly scoffed from his spot with the Shinsengumi. “Since when did Okita-kun start spewing out cool words? Seriously, I should start carrying a camera and recorder with me.”

“Y – you guys!” the leader of the arena exclaimed, recognizing the Shinsengumi’s uniform. “You won’t get away with this! Do you know who’s behind us?”

“Well, I have an idea.” Okita answered with a bored voice. Kusahara took it as a cue and started commanding the Shinsengumi to move out and surround the leader and his men.

“What… is this…” the leader of the arena asked as he stepped back. All of a sudden, two blades were pointed at him from behind and another was pointed directly at him from in front.

“The people behind you are…” Hijikata started from beside Okita.

“…us, the Shinsengumi.” Kusahara finished his sentence from in front of the leader.

“Wow, there are some really scary people behind you, alright.” Okita hummed. “Especially for Kusahara-san in front of you, you’re surrounded by really, really rabid dogs.”

An irk mark appeared on Kusahara’s forehead “Okita-kun, I will cut you down.” He growled as he pulled out his handcuff and began restraining the leader of the arena.

A few seconds passed and something made Kusahara look up at the VIP viewing area. There, he saw a man with a large hat on, menacingly looking down at them with dark eyes. For a second, the two of them made eye contact, but before Kusahara could blink, the man was gone.

Kusahara turned back towards the arena as if he saw nothing.

After rounding up the people in the arena, Kusahara and the Shinsengumi went out to talk with the Yorozuya by the bridge near the area of the Rengokukan.

“So, the big fish got away as usual.” Okita muttered as he leaned back against the bridge’s safety walls. “Bad guys always sleep well.”

“For that matter, why don’t you sleep forever?” Gintoki asked while scratching his head. “You played us like cards.

“That’s why I came to help you out, right, Hijikata-san, Kusahara-san?” Okita replied while glancing at Kusahara beside him.

“I don’t remember coming to help any of these bastards.” Hijikata replied after taking out his cigarette from in between his lips. “But, if the Shinsengumi gets burned because of this, it’ll be all your fault.”

“You’ll all have to commit seppuku.” Kusahara continued as he looked at the Yorozuya with his olive eyes.

“Eh?!” the Yorozuya trio gasped at the same time.

“No way! It’s impossible to do that unless we’re under extremely high tension!” Shinpachi yelled as he waved his hands in front of him.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t let them do that, right, Hijikata-san?”

An all too familiar voice suddenly came from behind Hijikata and causing most of the people there to jump back at the sudden interruption.

“I came as soon as I heard that you were done.” Shizuku said with a smile, holding up her umbrella to show her grin at the six people there. “Come on, everyone, let’s all go home.”

“And don’t worry.” Okita said as he rested his arm on Shizuku’s head when she came to stand beside him. He pressed down, slightly making the younger stumble at the weight on her head. “I’ll be your second and behead you if you don’t have the nerve. I sure hope my sword doesn’t slip.” He pointed at Kagura before he and the other Shinsengumi officers turned around.

“Huh, this guy must like me.” Kagura said to herself and made a vomiting noise with her mouth. “That’s disgusting.”

“Sougo, I’m also telling you.” Hijikata said as he walked with his hands inside his pockets.

“Really?” Okita asked, raising a brow at his superior.

“Sorry, Shinpachi-kun, but can you tell Ane-san that I’ll stay at the station for a bit? Thanks!” Shizuku called at the slightly taller male over her shoulders before she faced forwards and walked in between the three Shinsengumi officers.

“You didn’t have to pick us up, Shizuku.” Kusahara said to the younger girl as he walked beside her with his hands behind his head.

“It’s fine.” Shizuku replied. “The kids are all back at the station and they were worried, so to stop them all from going here, I went instead.”

“They don’t even know where this place is.” Okita commented from Shizuku’s other side. The younger girl just chuckled.

“They may not know where this place is, but maybe they could feel their father’s soul here.”

“Shizuku, sorry but, even if it’s coming from you, that’s so corny.”

“I’d like to hear you make a better one, Nori-san.”

“Yeah, _Kuso_ hara-san, make a better statement.”

“Shut up! Just because you got a chance to act cool, doesn’t mean you could rub it in my face!”

“Was Sougo really acting cool? I really didn’t see it.”

“That’s because you’re blind, Hijikata-san. You can’t see anything that doesn’t have mayonnaise on it.”

“Sougo, you bastard!”

Shizuku sighed as she watched the two older officers run ahead to catch Okita, who ran away at top speed. The young girl smiled happily, closing her umbrella to run after them, just because she felt like it. She followed the three officers as they ran after each other and it didn’t take long for the three of them to tumble down a grassy patch near the area, their limbs tangled around the others’, their arms and hands getting into each other’s faces, and their fingers curling around the others’ hair.

“Take back what you said, Sougo! Mayonnaise is god!”

“I don’t want to! Kusahara-san, get your uninteresting hands from my hair!”

“That’s not my hand! Hijikata-san, your foot is near my face!”

Shizuku laughed loudly as she watched the three fight on the grass, tumbling and turning around until they finally gave up and just stayed there, looking up at the sky, their bodies and libs twisted in odd angles.

For the first time in a while, she felt like nothing was holding her back.

She unconsciously held on her snowflake necklace as she continued to laugh.

“I think we need help.” Hijikata muttered, half of his face on the grass.

“Please get us out of here.” Kusahara nodded, his head tilted up, exposing his neck.

“This feels so weird.” Okita added, his head facing up but his body was slightly twisted to the side.

“Do you need me to untangle you?” Shizuku asked, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, finally calming down from her laughter. “Though, I admit, you three look good twisted like that. Is it painful?”

“Another sadist!” Hijikata gasped. “Please no! We don’t need another one in this series! One in the Shinsengumi is enough!”

Shizuku laughed again, coming near to kneel in front of the three. “So, who wants to get out first?”

“Me! I’m the easiest to twist out! Get these two away from me!”

“Twisting Kusahara out would mean practically breaking my arm! Do me first, Shizuku!”

“I don’t really mind being pulled out last but could you untangle me first so I could take a picture of this scene, younger Kusahara?”

For the past thirty minutes, only screams were heard in that grassy patch and no one dared to peek at whoever was getting tortured down there. A girl’s laughter mixed in with the screams and it made the people passing think for a second if the people were really getting tortured or they were simply just playing. Because of how angelic and lively the laugh was, most people don’t think the worst. That went on for a few minutes more until the noise slowly turned into pained groaning.

Until the end, the girl’s laughter was still there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	19. Interrogations, marriages and confrontations

* * *

_XVI_

_Manga: Lesson 40_

_Anime: Episode 22_

* * *

SHIZUKU laid in bed as she was rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand. The sunlight poured in through the sides of her closed windows, slightly lighting up the young girl’s room as she stared up at the ceiling, thinking about what she would do for the day.

“Oh, that’s right.” Shizuku blinked her eyes open as she slowly sat up. “I’m supposed to go at the Shinsengumi station today.” She muttered to herself as she rubbed her eyes again.

The day before, Shizuku was scheduled for an interrogation about the Rengokukan incident, but since Kondou was out of commission at that time, curtesy of a certain someone’s older sister, Shizuku’s scheduled interrogation time was cut into two days, with the current day being the second day already. Okita was there standing beside her the whole time that she gave her statement and since Hijikata couldn’t place Kusahara as the officer in charge because they’re related. The older dark haired male had taken it upon himself to be the one in charge of her while she gave her statement.

“Shizuku, better get ready, quick.” Kusahara’s voice suddenly came from outside of Shizuku’s room. “Hijikata-san will be here in thirty minutes to pick you up.”

“I’ll just need twenty minutes to get ready.” Shizuku replied with a sleepy voice before she yawned.

“Alright, then. I’ll run the bath for you.” The older said before he started to walk away towards the direction of the bathroom. His footsteps faded a few seconds later.

Shizuku blinked her sleep away and slowly stood, dusting herself off. She bent down to roll her futon properly and stored them inside the closet at the corner of the room. A little while later, after stretching her body for a bit, Shizuku opened the door to her room and stepped out, closing the door behind her.

“Good morning, Shizuku-chan.” Shinpachi greeted as soon as the teal haired girl stepped out of the hallway and into the living room. By the way that he looked, it seemed that he was already ready for the day.

“Good morning.” Shizuku greeted back with a large smile. She sat in front of Shinpachi under the Kotatsu and began eating through the breakfast that Kusahara had cooked for them since Tae was staying late over at the Hostess bar the day before.

“Ittadakimasu.” The young girl clapped her hands once before she started eating.

“How was your interrogation yesterday, Shizuku-chan?” Shinpachi asked as she took a sip from her cup.

“It was alright.” Shizuku replied after swallowing her food. “I heard that the Yorozuya’s investigation didn’t even take a day.” She said as she looked at the slightly taller male.

“Well, Okita-san, Hijikata-san and Kusahara-san was there with us, so it only took us a few questions here and there, then we were let off.” Shinpachi said before chuckling. “I heard from Kusahara-san that Kondou-san wanted to talk to you about the incident.”

“Yeah.” Shizuku nodded while putting her finished bowl down on the table. “He said that the wanted to ask something from me, so I said okay; I don’t mind.”

“Shizuku, your bath’s ready!” Kusahara’s voice suddenly came from the direction of the bathroom.

“Coming!” the young girl called back before she clapped her hands together and thanked whoever was out there for the meal, before she stood up. “Well, I’ll take a bath now.” She said to Shinpachi before she started walking towards where Kusahara was. In front of the door to the bathroom, the older male stood – already in his uniform – with a folded-up towel in his hand.

“Thanks.” Shizuku smiled up at the taller male when she took the towel in her hands. She prepared herself to go inside before Kusahara’s voice stopped her from moving.

“I accidentally overheard something from the station yesterday.” The older said in a low voice, as if wanting to let only the younger hear what he was saying.

“What did they say?” Shizuku asked as she stood beside the taller male while looking at the inside of the bathroom.

“I could be wrong, but I could be right, too.” Kusahara sighed while crossing his arms in front of his chest. “They were talking about us.”

“What about us?” Shizuku glanced up at Kusahara beside her as she raised a brow. “That could mean a lot, you know.”

“It seems that four people are currently keeping tabs on everything about the two of us. I heard something along the lines of ‘Are you sure that’s the only thing there?’ and ‘Check deeper, damn it!’” The older male replied before looking down at Shizuku beside him. “I think you already know who those people are.”

“I already have a guess, yes.” the younger sighed as she nodded. “Also, as to why they started to look into us, I might have a guess, too.”

Kusahara hummed before he pushed himself away from the wall. “Well, there’s nothing we can do about it now. They already started to look deeper, but I doubt they’ll find anything useful anytime, soon. Of course, unless they talk to the right people.” He said before he ruffled Shizuku’s hair.

“Let’s just play the role of being the characters with the least known background for a little while longer.”

“I guess you’re right.” Shizuku chuckled before she entered the bathroom.

A little while later, she began undressing herself to bathe and a few minutes after that, she was already done washing herself and a few minutes later, she was already putting on the Kimono that Kusahara has placed by the corner of the bathroom earlier. Just as she exited the bathroom, fully dressed with her hair still dripping wet, Hijikata’s voice came into her hearing, earning her attention.

“Kusahara, I’m going to need you to go ahead to the station.” She heard the older say from the living room. “I’ll take care of your cousin.”

“Is there any reason why, Hijikata-san?” Shizuku heard Kusahara ask. The girl silently leaned against the wall near the living room to hear the conversation without getting seen.

“Kondou-san ordered that the Second and Tenth Division to go out early on a patrol today. Harada’s already out in the streets.” Hijikata just answered with a sigh. “You can command your troop to go out, but you can stay at the Station and oversee the operations outside the interrogation room if you want – though, you can also go out because we’re there – I know that you can’t really leave your cousin on her own. Shizuku’s interrogation would only take an hour and a half, at most.”

“Understood.” Kusahara answered before the sound of footsteps were heard until it was gone. Shizuku waited for a little bit before she stepped out of her corner and went up to Hijikata, who was waiting by the living room where Kusahara left him.

“Your cousin went on ahead.” The older male said even before Shizuku fully stepped foot inside the living room. “The glasses boy went out early, too.” he turned around to face the younger girl.

“Now, put on your socks and sandals, and let’s go.” He said before gesturing towards the front door.

“Alright, Hijikata-san.” Shizuku nodded before walking towards her room and putting on high socks. A few minutes later, Hijikata was already outside of the house, waiting for the young girl to come out. After locking up the house, Shizuku took her keys to the Shimura property and went out with her sandals and her umbrella.

“Let’s go?” Hijikata asked, glancing down at the younger girl, who nodded as she opened up her umbrella.

Since the older male didn’t bring his patrol car with him, he and Shizuku were walking down to the station, not that Shizuku minded anyway since she said to herself that walking was good for her. They passed by some stores that Shizuku frequented to and earned a greeting from the various shop owners around. Some of them even greeted Hijikata, too, since they seemed to know him. The two were engulfed in comfortable silence as they walked. The older male spiked up a conversation every now and then, and Shizuku happily answered him. A few minutes more into walking, with only a few more corners and they’ll be at the station already, Hijikata, once again, broke their silence.

“Where are you and Kusahara from, Shizuku?” the older asked as he walked, smoking a cigarette in between his lips.

Shizuku tilted her umbrella back to glance at Hijikata, who was keeping his eyes in front of them. She faced the road before answering, “We’re from the Nagato provice, Hijikata-san.”

The older gave a low hum. “Before you ask, I just wanted to know because Kusahara never mentioned where he’s from.” He said while glancing down at Shizuku. “Even his resume didn’t include that information. He just placed the house of that glasses boy and his sister. We’re just curious.”

“I see.” Shizuku nodded with a small smile on her face. “How about you, Hijikata-san? Where are you from?”

“Me, Kondou-san, Sougo and some of the officers are from the Musashi province.” The dark haired male answered. “We moved here about four years ago or so, I’m not entirely sure. I think Sougo just turned fourteen when we left home.”

“So you all know each other since you were young, then?” the teal haired girl asked. From the distance, she could see the gates of the Shinsengumi.

“You could say that.” Hijikata answered. “I’ve known Sougo since he was about nine or ten. He has known Kondou-san for a bit longer than me. I stuck around because I was bored.”

Shizuku hummed in response. Just on time, they arrived in front of the Shinsengumi headquarters and were greeted by the two officers positioned outside the gates. Without any questions, they were let inside and were escorted towards the East Wing of the compound, where the interrogation rooms were. Once they were there, the first person that Shizuku noticed was Kondou already sitting under the table inside of the interrogation room.

“I’ll take your umbrella.” Hijikata said before Shizuku nodded as she gave the blue umbrella to the taller male. A few seconds later, she was escorted inside of the interrogation room by Okita, who stood quietly behind Shizuku when she sat down, opposite of Kondou.

“Good morning, Kondou-san, Okita-san.” The young girl greeted as she looked at the officers in the room.

“Good morning, Shizuku-chan.” Kondou greeted with a smile. “Well, I’m sure you have things to do after this, so shall we start?”

“I don’t really have anything planned after, but alright.” Shizuku nodded. The door was closed and the interrogation started.

“I know that this chapter is getting a bit boring, but let’s go back to what you said yesterday, alright?” Kondou said as he leaned forwards and rested his entwined hands on the table. “Let’s start.”

Kondou started asking the basic questions, like how she got there to the Rengokukan, what she did and what she saw. Then, he went on to ask what she did when the fight between the Shinsengumi and the Yorozuya inside the Rengokukan arena took place. Of course, Shizuku answered that she was taking the kids back to the station and she went back to the place of the arena to check up on them. The questions went on and on before all of sudden, Okita was called outside by Yamazaki, saying something about someone calling for him. Kondou let him go before he proceeded to talk with Shizuku.

Almost an hour after Shizuku came to the station, she was already done.

“Well, that was easy.” Kondou sighed before he laughed loudly. “Really, Shizuku-chan, you need to stop doing our jobs for us.” He said in a light tone, pertaining to when she took the kids back to the station.

“I didn’t want to get mixed up with the conflict because I don’t know how to fight like Kagura-chan and Shinpachi-kun, so I figured that I would only become a nuisance there.” Shizuku answered with a chuckle. “I don’t really mind doing the small things behind the big scenes. Ever since I was young, I’ve been doing it.”

“Being behind the scenes?” Kondou asked as he stood up. “Well, you completely look like the type to love working.”

The young girl chuckled. “I do love working, actually.” She nodded. “I would love to work and help, but because of my condition under the sun, I tend to get rejected.” She gave a small laugh.

“Who would reject a hardworking person like you?” Kondou raised a brow. “I mean, only a few chapters ago, you were taking care of officers here at the station because of that mosquito incident. It wasn’t shown in the chapter, but you make good tea and cook delicious food, too.”

“Let’s just say that people are either really worried for people like me or they just don’t want someone sickly to work for them.” Shizuku smiled before they got inside of the main building, where Kusahara was waiting.

“Hey, Shizuku.” He waved as soon as he saw the young girl. “Oh, Kondou-san, hey. Hijikata-san and Okita-kun went out, saying that they were called by Totsan for some reason.”

Kondou hummed. “That might be because of what happened a few days ago. They’ll be back by tonight, probably.” He said before handing Shizuku her umbrella.

“Well, here you go, Shizuku-chan.” The older said with a smile. “You’re free to go.”

“Thank you, Kondou-san.” The young girl bowed before she turned to wave at Kusahara. “Bye, Nori-san!” the older waved back at her before Shizuku turned around and exited the Shinsengumi headquarters, saying goodbye to the officers outside of the station and began walking down the streets of Edo.

A few minutes after she started walking under her umbrella, Shizuku spotted a lock of curly white hair that belonged to someone that she would never mistake for anyone else. Feeling a smile crawl up to her face, Shizuku began to jog towards the white haired male and stopped walking in front of him.

“Good morning, Gin-san.” Shizuku waved brightly. Before she could say another thing, a lavender haired girl with red rimmed glasses stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the white haired male.

“Who are you? Are you his ex? Are you here to beg him to come back to you? Are you going to try to win him back?” The lavender haired girl asked too fast for Shizuku to even comprehend some of what she was saying. Before Shizuku could answer, however, the lavender haired woman narrowed her eyes at her.

“Wait a minute.” The woman muttered, barely audible enough for Shizuku to hear. The older woman blinked before she stepped back and cleared her throat.

“Gin-san, who is this girl?” the woman asked Gintoki, who was waiting behind her with a bored look on his face.

“She’s a friend.” Gintoki answered her. “Sorry about his, Shizuku.” He said before he stepped in front of the teal haired girl and patted her head. “Just ignore her, alright?”

“…. Okay?” Shizuku blinked, before she nodded, looking back at the woman standing behind Gintoki. “Anyway…” she muttered before turning back to the tall male. “What brings you here, Gin-san?” she asked with a smile.

“I was going to the convenient store to buy something sweet. That woman destroyed my pudding.” Gintoki replied before taking Shizuku’s wrist and began walking, dragging the girl beside him. “You come with me. I don’t want to be seen in public with that cosplay woman behind me.” he said, glancing back at the lavender haired woman that was closely following behind them.

“Plus, you look white again.” Gintoki said before he dropped Shizuku’s wrist. “You need sweets.”

“There goes your diabetes again, Gin-san.” Shizuku chuckled, walking in line with the older male. “And besides, I’m always like this.”

“Shush!” Gintoki slightly raised his voice. “You know that sugar brings energy and you need energy.” He declared before they entered a nearby convenient store and immediately went to the candies and chocolates section.

“What do you want?” Gintoki asked. “Don’t tell Kagura and Shinpachi about this, alright? I’ll pay for what you get.”

Shizuku looked up at the tall male with sparkling eyes. “Really?!” she beamed, her smile widening even more when Gintoki nodded. “If you’re alright with it, I’ll take a bar of ‘Venus’.” She said while taking something from the shelf.

“I know you’d pick that.” Gintoki muttered before he took a bar for himself and even throwing a bar to the lavender haired woman who was trailing behind them. “Don’t be picky about what I gave you.” He said to the woman before lightly pulling Shizuku towards the counter and paying for the three chocolate bars.

“Let’s go back to the Yorozuya.” The white haired male said as he opened the chocolate bar and exiting the store with Shizuku and the woman in tow. A few minutes later, they were already back to the white haired male’s office.

Still confused why the woman was following Gintoki around, Shizuku decided to ask Kagura and Shinpachi about her. What she found out made her unpleasant side suddenly come out, but neither the woman nor the Yorozuya saw it because Shizuku kept a straight face as she questioned Gintoki about the situation. Apparently, Gintoki had slept with the woman and he kept denying everything, and he even treats the woman badly.

“Gin-san, are you sure that you don’t remember doing… you know?” she asked the taller male, who kept on picking his nose as he sat on the couch, clearly unbothered.

“Pretty sure.” Gintoki answered. “And you know that I don’t like ninja suits, I like nurse suits.” He said with a bored tone on his voice.

“Isn’t it time to take at least a little bit of responsibility?” Shizuku’s brows frowned as she whispered to Gintoki. “At least know what you did.”

“I don’t know what I did.” The older replied back in a whisper, watching the lavender haired woman sip her tea from across the table in front of them.

“Let her know that you’re a man, Gin-san.” Shizuku lightly scolded. A second later, they were shocked to see the lavender haired woman abruptly stand up from her seat and ran towards the door while holding on to her stomach and covering her mouth.

“I’m back.” Kagura said as she came up to the others while holding a paper bag in front of her. She watched the lavender haired woman rush past her. Suddenly, a shocked expression came up to her face.

“Gin-chan, don’t tell me?!”

The same look came up Shizuku’s and Shinpachi’s face as they both looked at Gintoki. “Don’t tell me?!” they both shouted at the same time.

“Huh?” Gintoki asked. “Me?” he said as he pointed himself. Shizuku nodded as she gave a thumbs up, making Gintoki’s shoulders sag down.

“Don’t tell me…” he choked out.

“Go take responsibility, Gin-san!” Shizuku said as she pushed Gintoki towards his room to make him look decent. A few minutes later, the tall male came out wearing his formal suit. Shizuku watched him go towards the door, where they know the lavender haired woman was waiting and listened as the tall male asked her to marry him. Not even a minute passed and the woman had already dragged Gintoki out of the house.

“Shinpachi-kun, this is why you should be cautious as to who you meet, alright?”

“No need to remind me, Shizuku-chan.”

“Shinpachi, Shizu-nee!” Kagura suddenly called for the two people near the door. The two went towards the living room, where they know Kagura was waiting.

“What’s the matter?” Shizuku asked as she looked at the younger girl looking up at the ceiling.

“That.” the younger girl replied as she pointed at the ceiling. “How long has that hole been there?” she asked, making Shizuku and Shinpachi look at the enormous hole on the roof.

Shizuku’s face suddenly turned deadpanned.

“Wait… don’t tell me…”

The next day, when Kusahara was walking downtown on his daily patrol, someone familiar passed by him, making the tall male stop at his tracks while keeping his hands pocketed.

“I heard everything from Shizuku.” The tall male said, his head tilted up to face the sky. “I heard that you were pretending the whole time, too.” he continued, knowing that the person who passed by him stopped in their tracks as well.

“You made a pretty convincing act, she said. Even Shizuku was convinced for a moment.”

“Well, I needed his strength.” The person behind Kusahara replied with their voice low. “It was a little fun, though.” the person said before continuing.

“He seems a little……. I don’t know…. Dreamy….”

Kusahara chuckled before he looked behind his shoulder, seeing a lavender haired woman stand there. “There goes your M side again.” he laughed lightly.

“Could it be that you’re in love?”

The person looked over her shoulder as well, her lavender hair flowing with the wind as dark eyes looked at olive ones.

“Well, I’m not sure, but I know that I want him to play with me.” she said dreamily, a light blush covering her pale cheeks.

“Is this love?”

“I don’t know much because I can’t really feel what you are feeling.”

Kusahara laughed for a little bit before he turned back to his original direction, same for the lavender haired woman behind him.

All of a sudden, the atmosphere turned dark, as if everyone around them stopped in time and they were covered with a darkened aura with no light coming through from all sides.

“To protect everything that we’ve both been through, we haven’t met each other until yesterday and now.” the woman said, her voice low and barely audible.

“Agreed.” The man replied, his voice as equally low in volume.

“I’ll tell Zenzou.”

“I’ll tell Shizuku.”

Both of them started to walk towards their own destination, not one looking behind them again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	20. Do you still remember how this story started? Maybe not

* * *

_XVII_

_Manga: Lesson 50-52_

_Anime: Episode 31-32_

* * *

BOTH Shinpachi and Shizuku slowly stood from their seats when the house landline rang loudly and Kusahara called from town.

“Nori-san, hey.” Shizuku greeted after she went to answer the phone.

“Come to the hospital.” Was the first thing the older male said to her.

“What? Why? What’s wrong?” Shizuku’s slightly frantic asking caught the attention of the only other occupant of the house. A second later, Shinpachi came to the living room, asking what was wrong.

“Just come here.” Kusahara answered before he sighed. “Gintoki-san just had an accident. I was on patrol with my Division and saw the whole thing. I took him to the hospital. It’s pretty bad.”

With that, Shizuku immediately slammed down the telephone and turned to Shinpachi, who heard everything that Kusahara had said and was wearing a horrified look on his face. Immediately, the two young teens bolted out the door and quickly locked it behind them, since Tae wasn’t in the house at the moment, and rushed towards the Great Edo Hospital. Due to their rush, Shizuku had even forgotten her umbrella behind and was forced to cover herself with her hands and the sleeves of her kimono. Shinpachi was helping her by raising his hand over her head to prevent her from being too exposed to sunlight.

The whole run towards the hospital was tiresome, but it only took Shinpachi and Shizuku at least twenty minutes to run all the way there – normally, the trip would take at least forty minutes but it only took them half the time because of their rushing. When they got inside of the hospital, the two of them were a panting mess. They asked at the nurse’s station where Gintoki was staying and immediately dashed up at the stairs after they were told that he was in the seventh floor. When they turned the corner, they were greeted by Catherine, Kagura and Otose sitting on the bench near the end of the hallway. Kusahara was also there in his Shinsengumi uniform, talking on the phone.

“Guys!” Shinpachi yelled as he panted. “Gin-san? Is Gin-san alright?!”

“Don’t shout it the hospital, idiot!” Otose yelled, in a much louder voice than Shinpachi.

“Same for you, granny!” Kagura yelled with a frown on her face

“You, too, brat!” Catherine screamed.

“All of you, please keep quiet.” Kusahara sighed as he turned around to face everyone while pocketing his phone. “I just talked to the head of the District police over at Kabuki-chou. They said that they just cleaned the road where the accident happened. It’s up to Gintoki-san if he’s going to press charges on the guy that hit him. You know, when he wakes up.”

Shizuku sighed. Kusahara said “when” and not “If.” That means that Gintoki was alright.

Otose scoffed as she pulled out a cigarette from her box. “There’s nothing to worry about.” She started “He’s not the type to die from getting hit by a car.”

“Kusahara said that he got hit when he went out to buy JUMP.” Kagura explained to Shizuku and Shinpachi as she pulled out copy of this week’s JUMP. “That’s what happens when you read this kind of junk at his age. Though, I think the story with the mouth over his hand is promising. What’s the title again? Juritsu Kaiser?”

“It’s Jujutsu Kaisen Kagura-chan.” Kusahara chuckled softly.

“Although I agree that that’s a good story, let’s hope that he’ll take this opportunity to grow up a bit.” Catherine said with a huff.

“You said it.” Otose nodded.

With those reactions, Shizuku and Shinpachi heaved out a loud sigh of relief.

“You know….” Someone suddenly from behind the two teens, making them turn around. “Hearing you say that makes me feel a bit better.” A man with brown hair and purple kimono and haori said as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

“I’m really sorry.” he said with a slight bow. “I was talking on my cellphone and didn’t see him in time.”

Without even a second to think, Shinpachi and Shizuku watched as Otose and Kagura jumped on the man and repeatedly stomped on him while yelling threats something along the lines of “If he dies, you’ll die too.” Kusahara was there to break up the stomping parade and helped the man up to his feet.

“I said before that when Gintoki-san recovers, he’ll be the one to have a say on your charges, but you’ll still be taken to the station for not paying attention while driving.” The teal haired male said to the man, who nodded as he was escorted out by some of the District Police officers that arrived at that moment.

“You’ll remember this!” Kagura shouted at the man as he was escorted out of the hospital. Suddenly the door to Gintoki’s room was thrown open and an old, angry nurse came out, screaming at them to keep quiet.

“No, you shut up.” The doctor inside the room called as he stared at the nurse with hollow eyes. All of a sudden, Catherine, Kagura, Shinpachi and Otose ran past Kusahara and Shizuku to squeeze their way inside Gintoki’s room.

“Hey, you can’t go in there, yet!” the nurse yelled and tried to push the four out from the door. After a few minutes, the nurse gave up and the doctor just let them in. Shizuku and Kusahara calmly followed closely behind the four, standing the farthest away from the white haired male who was silently sitting on the hospital bed in the middle of the room.

“Hey, he looks fine.” Otose comments as she looked at Gintoki on the bed.

“You scared the hell out of us!” Kagura scolded, oddly sounding like a mother. The way she posed with her hands on her hips was greatly contributing to that thought. “I won’t let you buy JUMP anymore!”

“We were worried, Gin-san.” Shinpachi said with a worried expression on his face.

Shizuku stepped nearer to the foot of the bed. “You sure hit some bad luck, huh, Gin-san?”

Gintoki slowly lifted his head to look at the teal haired girl.

“Who are you?” he asked with a soft voice as he looked around, earning a gasp from everyone in the room. “Do I know you, people?” he paused.

“Do we know each other?”

All six people in the room stood stoned as they looked at Gintoki with furrowed brows and slightly agape mouths.

“Seriously?!”

The Doctor walked up to them with a slight frown on his face. “His injuries aren’t that bad.” He said while stepping next to Kusahara. “He hit his head real hard, and that must have made some of his memories pop out.”

“’Pop out’?! What is he, a toaster?” Shinpachi slightly frowned at the doctor.

“It’s common for someone to lose their memory of what happened before and after an accident.” The doctor replied, not looking at the bespectacled boy as he looked at Gintoki. “In his case, he seems to have also forgotten his entire identity. That could be quite a problem.”

“You better not be faking this.” Otose scolded as she stepped next to Gintoki. “He doesn’t have amnesia. He just wants to get out of paying rent.” She said, clearly not happy with what was happening.

“Sensei, I think I’m hallucinating, too.” Gintoki suddenly said with a monotone voice. “I keep seeing this hideous goblin.”

“Sakata-san, there’s nothing to worry about.” The doctor reassured. “There are no goblins in his hospital. Maybe just a ghost or two. That reminds me, we should call the Jujutsu Tech guys to exorcise the curses here.”

“Sensei, that’s not right.” Shinpachi replied while lightly hitting the doctor with the back of his hand.

The doctor sighed as he closed his eyes. “The human memory is very complex, like a tree with its branches intertwined.” He spoke, with his voice low.

“If one branch is disturbed, the others move, too.” he opened his eyes before he turned around and excused himself out.

Everyone stood silently as they watched Gintoki.

“I’m sorry.” Was the only thing that the white haired male said before he lowered his gaze to her hands and never uttered another word for the whole day.

Shizuku stayed by his bedside as she held his hand with one of her own, the other hand occasionally thumbing over the snowflake pendant of her choker.

Three days passed with Shinpachi and Kagura staying at the hospital to look after Gintoki. Otose and Catherine visited every day along with Shizuku. Because of his job, Kusahara couldn’t visit the white haired male in those three days, but he was there when Gintoki was discharged. They all took Gintoki home to the Yorozuya office, telling him that he lived there with Kagura.

“Yorozuya Gin-chan.” Gintoki muttered as he looked at the signboard. “Is this where I live?”

“That’s right, Gin-san.” Shizuku nodded. “You take on Odd Jobs. You’re a freelancer.”

“Odd Jobs.” Gintoki frowned. “It’s no use, I don’t remember.” He muttered.

“An Odd Jobs who did practically nothing at all.” Kagura replied with an innocent expression on her face. “We were like paupers.”

“Pau…?!” the white haired male exclaimed as he looked down at Kagura. “Paupers at my age?!”

“To make things worse, you always look like a walking corpse with dead fish eyes.” Kagura looked at the tall male.

“And you didn’t pay the rent.” Otose piped in form behind them.

“And you also stole Otose-san’s money.” Catherine added.

“That was you!” the old lady knocked on the Amanto’s head.

“You might remember something if you go inside.” Kusahara suggested while gesturing to the stairs up to the Yorozuya office. The others nodded and watched Gintoki step on the stairs and into the house.

“This is your home, Gin-san” Shinpachi smiled as he walked inside of the house. “Doesn’t it bring back memories?” he asked while looking behind him to look at Gintoki.

“That’s right!” Kagura nodded with a bright smile on her face. “You always sat to this sofa, digging your boogers!” Gintoki frowned as he looked down.

“Look, Gin-chan!” Kagura called from the living room and stepped out with Sadaharu over her head. “It’s Sadaharu, see?!” she threw the large dog towards Gintoki, who yelled as he backed away.

“Humongous!” the tall male yelled a bit. “What’d you feed him to make him this big?!”

“Gin-chan, you were always fond of Sadaharu.” Kagura said while combing through the large dog’s hair.

“How could I be fond of such a ridiculously sized dog like this?” Gintoki asked while looking at Sadaharu. Before he could do anything else, Sadaharu suddenly opened his mouth and took in Gintoki’s whole head.

“Huh?” the white hared male blinked. “It’s pitch black. I can’t see anything. Could my mind be unconsciously trying to seal away my memories?”

“No, that’s not it.” Shinpachi sighed. “You’ve been bitten.”

“That’s quite normal, really.” Kusahara chuckled before he and Shizuku gently removed Sadaharu’s mouth from Gintoki’s head before the large dog did any more damage. Behind them, Otose sighed out heavily.

Shizuku and Kagura went towards the living room and took out Gintoki’s things in attempt to show him what he did on his free time. They took out his bokuto, his JUMP collection and Kagura even attempted to take out the pile of dirty tissues laced with Gintoki’s boogers, but Shizuku was quick to prevent the younger girl from doing so.

They all watched as Gintoki sat on his chair and look at the things on his table. At the same time, Shinpachi opened the news and showed the morning news run.

“Look, Gin-san.” The young boy said. “It’s your favorite, Ketsuno-Ana.”

“You’d always peer at her from a low angle during her morning forecast!” Kagura said as she attempted what Gintoki would always do every morning.

“Ketsuno-Ana?” Gintoki muttered.

“How are you?” Shizuku asked as she stood next to Shinpachi. “Do you remember anything? You’ve always been fond of her.” she asked with a hopeful tone in her voice.

Gintoki placed a hand on his face. “I don’t remember… or rather, I don’t want to remember.”

“I think that’s because Ketsuno-Ana just got married.” Kusahara commented from behind Shizuku, who just sighed in defeat as she sat on the floor, thinking of other ways to make the taller male remember.

Kagura suddenly took Gintoki by the shoulders and began shaking him back and forth. “Pull yourself together!” she yelled. “Be a loser! Discard your conscience. That’s who GINTOKI is!”

“Is – is that so?” the white haired male stuttered.

“That’s who GINTOKI is!” Kagura continued. “He’s a sore, sore, sore, loser!!” she kept screaming and screaming at him as she shook the tall male by the collars.

Shizuku sighed. “Nori-san, what do we do?” she asked as she looked up at the tall male beside her.

“I think’s it’s good to walk him down the streets of Edo.” Kusahara replied, looking at his watch on his left wrist. “It’s also almost time for my patrol. You could join me while I go around.” He said as he looked at Gintoki.

“That might be a good idea.” Otose nodded, huffing out a long puff of smoke from her cigarette. “This is a man with connections throughout Edo. You might stumble across something that might strike a chord in his memory.”

Kagura immediately pulled Gintoki up on his feet and began leading him out of the house with Shinpachi. Shizuku and Kusahara followed closely behind them, thanking Otose and Catherine in advance for taking care of the Yorozuya office while the trio was out.

They’ve gone around through the route that Kusahara usually takes when he was on patrol. They’ve passed by a couple of stores that Gintoki frequented in, and they asked the tall male if he could remember, but to no avail. After an hour of walking, they noticed Katsura and Elizabeth in a distance.

“Maybe he would know something.” Kusahara suggested as he pointed at the dark haired male. “Since I’m in uniform, I can get arrested for conspiracy if I was seen in public with a Joui Roushi, so it’s up to you guys to question him. Shizuku, don’t let others see you, too. I’ll be watching from afar.” He said as he gestured Shizuku and the others to go towards Katsura. The three teens pulled Gintoki over to the tall male and his pet and explained the situation to him.

“What? Amnesia?” Katsura’s eyes slightly widened. “Is this true? Tell me the details of what happened, Gintoki.”

“As I said, he lost his memories.” Shinpachi explained. “What are you even doing here, Katsura-san?”

“To save the country, first you’ve got to have money.” The dark haired male replied before turning to the side and advertising the club that he was working at, before he turned back to face Gintoki and the others.

“You know, Gintoki, why don’t you stop by, too.” Katsura said. “We have lots of pretties.” Behind him, Elizabeth pulled out a sign that said, “All you can drink! All you can grope!”

“You’ll be able to forget all the bad memories.” Katsura continued.

“Katsura-san, he’s already forgotten.” Shizuku frowned as she looked up at Gintoki. “I don’t think it’s not good for him to forget any more than what he already had.”

“I feel a memory stirring.” Gintoki suddenly piped up. “Let’s check it out.”

“Liar!” Shinpachi yelled as he kicked the tall male at the head.

“Gin-san!” Shizuku gasped and watched Gintoki fall on his knees. “Are you alright?!” she asked as she kneeled beside the white haired male.

“I felt something just now!” Gintoki blinked. “It’s coming!”

Behind them, Katsura dropped the sign he was holding and kneeled beside his friend. “Really? Remember, Gintoki!” he said. “Remember the days when you slaved as my apprentice!”

“Katsura-san! Stop feeding him false information!” Shizuku scolded. “He might take you seriously! Gin-san, don’t listen to him. He’s just getting back at you for all the times that you ordered him around.”

Before Katsura could retort, Kagura came jumping from behind.

“Where is it? Where to I hit to jog your memory?” the vermillion haired girl asked as she began to repeatedly hit Gintoki’s head. “Here? Here? Or here?”

“No, it’s probably around here.” Katsura said as he hit Gintoki’s rear end. Beside him, Elizabeth started to kick Gintoki’s back.

“Stop!” Shizuku tried to calm everyone down as she tried to pull Gintoki up to his feet.

A couple of meters away, Kusahara sighed as he heard the commotion that was happening where Shizuku and the others were.

“Idiots.” He said to himself as he shook his head. Suddenly, a honk from a car alerted Kusahara, prompting him to turn around. He was surprised to see Okita and Hijikata behind him.

“ _Kuso_ hara-san, what are you doing here?” Okita asked with an innocent expression on his face.

Ignoring the insult, Kusahara sighed. “I was just about to stop this commotion.” He half-lied, half-told the truth.

“Is it a fight?” Hijikata asked from the shotgun seat. “Should we jump in?” he asked before his eyes narrowed to a certain long haired Joui Roushi.

“Katsura!”

Without warning, Okita slammed on the pedal and drove past Kusahara to slam against Katsura.

Shizuku and the others yelled as they watched a patrol car try to run them over. Without hesitations, Kusahara was immediately beside the young girl’s side, pulling her up to her feet. Before she could give a yell at the two officers that was inside the patrol car, she heard the very recognizable sound of a bomb ticking. The patrol car suddenly exploded, sending debris everywhere. Thankfully, Kusahara was able to clear the area before anyone could get hurt. From the corner of Shizuku’s eyes, she saw Katsura begin to run away.

“Kusahara, let’s go!” Hijikata yelled as he and Okita emerged from the debris and began to run after Katsura.

“Update me later!” Kusahara called at Shizuku before he unsheathed his teal hilted sword and began to catch up to the two officers and the Wanted Joui Roushi and his pet.

Shizuku sighed before remembering that Gintoki was still there at the site of the explosion. She got up to her feet and ran towards the direction of the tall male. Beside her, Kagura and Shinpachi also stopped to look at Gintoki.

“Gin-san, are you alright?!” Shizuku asked. Gintoki slowly opened his eyes to look at them.

“Who are you, people?”

Shizuku, Shinpachi and Kagura had their jaws unhinged and hit the floor.

They pulled Gintoki up to his feet and started from the beginning. They introduced themselves and began walking him through the streets of Edo once again. When they ended up inside Battle Royal Host, they coincidentally met up with Sarutobi and she began asking questions about Gintoki’s amnesia.

“Gin-san lost his memories of us?! Why haven’t you said anything earlier?!” Sarutobi shrieked as she shook a child on the isle of the restaurant.

“Sacchan-san, your glasses are here.” Shizuku called as she waved the older woman’s glasses up in the air.

“Come on, let’s go, Gin-san. We’re wasting our time here.” Shinpachi suddenly said as he pulled Gintoki up, only to be cut off with a smokescreen that blocked their sight of the tall male.

“I won’t let you! I won’t let anyone else have Gin-san!”

Shizuku and the others immediately rushed outside of the restaurant to catch the ninja. They continually yelled at her to put Gintoki down so they could talk, but the older woman was stubborn and kept running. Even with Kagura shooting bullets at Sarutobi with her umbrella, the older woman didn’t stop.

She only did when she accidentally let Gintoki go and caused him to fall. Before Shizuku and Shinpachi could catch him, Kagura hit Gintoki with her umbrella and made him crash with a billboard. When they went to the older male to ask how he was doing, the answer they got just made them even more frustrated.

“What’s this place?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

After a few minutes of talking to each other, Shizuku and the others found themselves sitting inside the Shimura household’s living room. In front of them, Tae sat with a worried look on her face.

“My, that’s awful.” She said with a slight frown. “Has he forgotten about me, too?”

“I’m sorry.” Gintoki bowed his head.

“You still remember me, right?” Tae smiled.

“No, he said, ‘I’m sorry.’” Shinpachi piped.

“No, he remembers.” The young boy’s sister said brightly. “Don’t play dumb with me. You mean that I remember him, but he doesn’t remember me? That sucks! Who does he think he is?” the brown haired girl suddenly turned to her brother.

“Shin-chan, hit me with this so I can forget my memories of Gin-san.” She said while holding up a small sledge hammer.

“Ane-ue, what am I, a brain surgeon?!” Shinpachi yelled

Tae sighed. “Then, I have no choice.” She said softly. Suddenly, she stepped up on the kotatsu and attempted to hit Gintoki’s head with the hammer while screaming that she’ll make Gintoki remember, no matter what.

“If I duplicate the shock, I’m sure he’ll remember!” Tae screamed. Shizuku, Kagura and Shinpachi jumped up to their feet and pulled the older girl back.

“Ane-ue, not that!” the younger Shimura yelled. “You’ll put us back to where we started!”

Gintoki suddenly grabbed Tae’s wrist and looked into her eyes. “I’m sorry. I still cannot remember you, but I know that I will soon. Please be patient.”

Tae suddenly stepped back with a very noticeable blush on her cheeks. “What…?” she muttered to herself as she turned around. “Why is my heart pounding over someone like Gin-san? His eyes and eyebrows just look closer together, that’s all.” The young girl frowned. “And his pupils are bigger, that’s all.”

“Ane-san?” Shizuku called softly.

Suddenly, Tae raised her head and smiled. “Forget the past. Live looking forwards, rather than backwards.”

“What?!” Shinpachi shrieked. “You changed your mind! Why?!”

Tae turned to Gintoki. “Lock up that worthless old Gin-san and live your life as the new Gin-san.”

“Ane-ue, that’s like putting a cover on smelly things to hide them!” the younger Shimura yelled. “Ah, wait, did I say smelly?”

“What do I see in a man with dead-fish eyes, anyways?” the older asked. “I prefer Gin-san the way he is now, compared to that frivolous Gin-san. He’s almost… Handsome.”

“Why are your cheeks so red?! Why are you blushing?! You’re not in love with him, are you?! No way! I won’t allow it! I absolutely refuse to become this creep’s brother-in-law!”

“This isn’t about you.” Tae said calmly.

“She’s right! His eyes and eyebrows may be closer together now, but when his memories return, they’ll separate again! He’ll be back to that loose face!”

Shizuku glanced down beside her and nonchalantly flicked Kondou’s head on the floor while she blinked. “Oh, you’re here again, Kondou-san?” she asked, completely not bothered at all. Tae, however, had a different reaction.

“What are you doing here, you bastard?!” the older girl asked as she stepped on Kondou’s face.

“Well, it was just so toasty and warm. I fell asleep.” Kondou struggled to reply. “Um, here. I bought some Haagen-Dazs for everyone.” He said as he pulled out something from under the kotatsu.

“It’s melted and gooey!” Shinpachi growled. “How long have you been under there?!”

“So, we meet again.” Kondou said to Gintoki with a stern voice as he straightened himself. “I haven’t seen you in a while. You’ve changed quite a bit. Are you trying to use amnesia to change your image and seduce Otae-san?” he asked. He continued talking but it seemed that Gintoki wasn’t listening to what he was saying. The white haired male’s eyes were glued to the melted ice cream that Kondou placed down on the table.

This didn’t pass by Shizuku’s eyes, immediately noticing how Gintoki’s eyes were solely on the delicacy. An idea popped up in her head as she suddenly stood, earning everyone’s attention.

“Gin-san’s sweet tooth!” she suddenly yelled. “Sugar might jog his memory!” on cue, Kagura jumped on the kotatsu and grabbed the ice cream on the table before she shoved it in Gintoki’s mouth.

“Ane-ue, gather every desert in the house!” Shinpachi said to his sister.

“Eh?” the older asked, looking confused.

“Just get something sweet!” Shinpachi yelled before Tae nodded and bolted out of the living room.

“Gin-chan, come back to us!” Kagura pleaded. “Gin-chan!”

“I…. I.” Gintoki muttered as he looked up the three teens, looking like he was back to his old self again. Before Shizuku could call out his name, someone dashed past them and shoved something inside Gintoki’s mouth, causing him to fall on his back.

“Ane-san, what’s that?” Shizuku asked as the tall woman stood in front of them. The young woman looked at the dark matter that was on Tae’s hand.

“It’s tamagoyaki omelet.” The older girl smiled. “I made it extra sweet today.”

“This omelet has quite a unique taste.” Kondou commented as he munched on the dark matter. A second later, he stilled and his face turned all blue. He then collapsed on the ground next to Gintoki.

“Kondou-san!” Shizuku called before she turned the older male over to look at his face. At the same time, Gintoki opened his eyes and looked at them.

“Who are you people?” both males asked at the same time.

“Not again!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	21. You actually never forget, but you usually refuse to remember

* * *

_XVIII_

_Manga: Lesson 50-52_

_Anime: Episode 31-32_

* * *

THEY decided to walk Gintoki around again.

After calling Hijikata to pick Kondou up from the Shimura household, Shizuku and the others left for town. They passed by the sweetshop that Gintoki liked so much. They went to the dango shop that they took Shizuku to when they were out explaining Edo to her, a couple of months back. They entered the club that Gintoki frequented in. They watched an Otsu concert that was happening in the concert hall. They even met up with a couple of friends of theirs, including Hasegawa and the kappa in the lake, but like earlier that day, they got absolutely nothing. They went to even more places, but the hope that Gintoki would remember anything at all was growing weaker and weaker by every passing hour.

Honestly, Shizuku was starting to lose hope.

By the end of the day, when the sun was about to sink, they slowly walked Gintoki home. Kagura, Shinpachi and Shizuku hung their heads low as they watched their feet. After gaining a bit of confidence, Shizuku tapped both of the other teens’ shoulders as a sign that they shouldn’t look so defeated, and this caused them to raise their heads up high once again.

“I’m sorry. You’re tried everything for me.” Gintoki suddenly said as they walked. “But in the end, I can’t remember anything.”

“Please, stop it.” Shinpachi smiled. “It’s so not like you.”

“Yeah.” Shizuku nodded while holding on to her umbrella. “Even if you’re ninety percent wrong, you’ll use everything that you have of that last ten percent to not apologize.” She said with a smile up to the tall male.

“Take your time to remember.” Kagura beamed. “We’ll wait.”

“Let’s go home and take it easy.” Shinpachi said with a smile.

“That’s right.” Their youngest nodded. “You might remember something if you relax at home.”

“What’s that?!”

The four stopped at the sound of a passerby yelling and pointing at the sky, causing them to look up, too. they all gasped at the sight of a spaceship smoking and heading directly straight down at them.

“Gin-chan!” Kagura suddenly called. “It’s time for you do your thing!” she said as she shook Gintoki’s arm.

“Eh?!” Gintoki exclaimed, clearly not knowing what the young girl was talking about.

“Gin-san, quickly!” Shinpachi pushed the older male towards the house that was near them and Kagura jumped up to the roof with Gintoki in tow. Shizuku gave Shinpachi a boost to get him up to the roof as well. She threw up Gintoki’s bokuto and yelled at the three on the roof.

“Gin-san, you can do it!” Shizuku called. “You’ve always slashed your way through everything with just your bokuto! You can do it again, now! I believe in you!”

“But-,” she heard Gintoki say but was immediately cut off by Kagura giving his sword to him.

Not knowing what was happening on the roof, Shizuku looked up at the sky and saw that the crashing spaceship was getting nearer and nearer to them.

“Come on, Gin-san.” She prayed in her mind. “You’ve always been the hero. You just have to remember!” she thought in her head as she looked up at the sky.

“Please!”

Suddenly, the spaceship just went through and no explosion happened.

A thump was heard and a wooden sword fell from the roof and landed in front of Shizuku.

The girl took a moment to process what happened and without saying anything, she picked up the bokuto and clutched it with a tight hand. Another second later, the Yorozuya trio jumped from the roof and landed behind Shizuku. Kagura immediately took the other girl’s unoccupied hand and dragged her towards the site where the spaceship crashed.

They kept running until they came up to a stop in front of the Yorozuya office, where a crowd was looking at the spaceship that was lodged on the building. Shizuku gasped as she looked at the sight, still clutching Gintoki’s bokuto in one of her hands.

A laugh disrupted the air, making Shizuku whip her heads towards the direction where it came from.

“Sorry about that!” she heard a very familiar voice say to the District police officers that were present. “I was trying to get to a friend’s place, but I got lost.”

“What the-,” Shizuku cut herself off by placing a hand on her mouth. The action didn’t pass by Shinpachi’s eyes, but he didn’t comment on anything. They all watched in silence as Sakamoto Tatsuma was taken away by the District Police officers while asking for a “Kin-chan.”

“Now, what are we going to do?” Shinpachi asked. “We’ve even lost the house.”

“Gin-chan.” Kagura called as she and Shinpachi looked to face the taller male behind them. Shizuku stayed rooted at her spot, looking up at the Yorozuya office without saying a word.

“We’ll be alright!” Kagura said positively. “We’ll manage, somehow!”

“That’s right.” Shinpachi nodded. “When your memory returns, I’m sure that we’ll joke about this. For the time being, we have to find somewhere else to stay.”

Shizuku stayed silent at her spot, already knowing what Gintoki is going to answer. She clutched the bokuto she was holding tighter.

“You’ve done enough.” Gintoki said softly, exactly as Shizuku predicted. “Don’t worry about me. You three have homes to go back to, don’t you? Don’t worry about me, be free.”

“Gin-san?” Shinpachi croaked.

“From what I’ve heard, I made you both work without any salary, and I’ve never really showed how much I cared for my friends.” Gintoki continued, looking at Shizuku, who was refusing to look at him. “After this, there’s no reason for you to stick around.” He paused.

“Now that I’ve lost my memory and my house, all the evidence I ever existed is gone. But, this might be a good opportunity.” Gintoki smiled as he turned around.

“According to everyone’s stories, I was a real mess of a guy. This is my chance to start all over again.” He paused for a moment before continuing.

“So, let’s end this ‘Yorozuya’ business.”

Gintoki started to walk away with his head hanging low.

Shinpachi and Kagura made an attempt to follow their boss, but a small, cold hand reached up to their arms and slightly pulled them back. They both looked around and saw Shizuku standing behind them with her head low, making them not see her dark green eyes.

“Leave him be.” Was the only thing Shizuku said before she let go of the duo’s arms and picked up the bokuto that was lying on the floor and gave it Shinpachi.

“There’s no use convincing someone who doesn’t want to remember anything, so let it go.”

Shizuku turned and left the two remaining Yorozuya behind as she went on the opposite direction.

She never looked back and just continued walking.

Neither Shizuku, nor Kusahara came home to the Shimura household that night. The next morning, Shinpachi and Kagura – who stayed with the Shimura siblings – got a call from the Shinsengumi station and said that Shizuku stayed there for the night because Hijikata found her by the riverside the night before, apparently asleep and she didn’t even notice it. Kusahara stayed at the station because he had work to do with Kondou missing in action, so they allowed Shizuku to sleep there for the night. She ended up staying for days and not once did she come back to the Shimura household.

Every day, Kagura would wake up early and disappear from the Shimura house, only to be found sitting on Gintoki’s chair at the Yorozuya office by Shinpachi. The slightly older boy, on the other hand, would check up on Shizuku and Kusahara at the Shinsengumi station, but he usually didn’t catch them on time, because apparently, Shizuku was always out of the station, and would always come back at night. Nobody, except Kusahara knew where she was going, and even the older male was missing for most of the time.

Because of that, thinking that they abandoned them, Kagura and Shinpachi both channeled their anger towards the cousins by staying at the Yorozuya office. They thought that Shizuku had given up on Gintoki, and was just avoiding them in general, so the remaining duo of the Yorozuya strangely felt angry at her for that. Their anger towards Kusahara was just a plus because he was acting as if he had better things to do. Inn a way, he really did because he is a police officer, but him not speaking to the Yorozuya was unnerving.

That went on for two weeks. That is, until Shinpachi and Kagura met up at the Yorozuya office, just like how they did the past few days, and Otose was there, waiting for them.

“I thought all the noisy ones finally disappeared. So, you’re still here?” the old woman said as she watched the two teens fighting over sukonbu. “This could be a problem. See, I want to tear down the second floor right away.”

“Wait!” Kagura slightly cried. “We’ll bring back Gin-chan!”

“You’ll bring him back?” Otose raised a brow. “Honestly, do you even know where he is?” the two teens’ shoulders sagged in defeat. No, they didn’t know where their boss was.

A paper suddenly flew towards Shinpachi’s hands.

“Shizuku asked me to give that to you.” Otose said as she started to walk away. “She passed by in a hurry earlier and told me that if you ever stop by again, I would tell you two about someone with silver hair working at the factory that’s listed there.”

“Shizu-nee did?” Kagura asked with a loud voice.

“But, I thought that she said……” Shinpachi’s voice trailed off.

“She gave up on Gin-chan! Why would she care now?!” Kagura growled loudly, her anger rising.

Otose sighed. “I heard about what she said to you two weeks ago. About letting go of someone who doesn’t want to remember anything.” she replied, huffing a big puff of smoke.

“Honestly, I think she and Gintoki think the same. The similarities between them are quite uncanny, actually. That’s exactly what Gintoki did.” The old woman muttered the last bits mostly to herself before she looked behind her shoulders to look at the two teens standing there.

“I know that you hate her now, but you probably didn’t know that while the two of you were sitting on your asses, she and her cousin has been working nonstop for two weeks just to find Gintoki. I also heard that Kusahara even broke protocol and it could easily warrant him for seppuku, but he still went and did it anyway.”

Otose wasn’t surprised to see the shocked faces on Shinpachi’s and Kagura’s faces after she told what she did. The old woman just sighed and began walking away.

“Don’t just make their hard work go down the drain. If I were to be completely honest, I’d say that they’re the ones who’s actually more desperate to make Gintoki remember everything. Basically, you hated them for nothing.”

With that, Otose left and the two teens immediately ran down the stairs.

Shizuku ran at top speed towards the factory that she knew Gintoki was in. After Kusahara got a call from Yamazaki back at the station, saying that the dark haired male had already found Kondou and Gintoki, Shizuku immediately asked what factory the older male was going uncover in and bolted out of the station, leaving her umbrella behind simply because she felt like she didn’t have time anymore. She passed by Otose’s place and gave the address to her, telling the older woman to give it to the remaining Yorozuya, before she bolted towards the factory.

She was aware of the growing hate that she was getting from the duo, but she knew that the two of them deserves to know where Gintoki is, far more than Shizuku does.

“Gin-san.” She muttered to herself as she ran. She abruptly stopped in front of the factory gates a few minutes later.

The sun was slightly scorching behind her back, although it was already time for the sunset. Shizuku panted as she held on to the post beside her for support. Sweat dropped from her forehead, making her reach up and wipe it with the sleeve of her kimono. She took a moment to breathe, panting as she did.

A sudden explosion rang in the air, making Shizuku flinch and back up in shock. She looked up and watched as a few more explosions disrupted the calmness of the surrounding.

“Gin-san!” Shizuku shouted out of instinct as fear clouded her face. A few seconds later, as the explosions continued, the sounds of sirens came to her hearing and another second later, strong hands grabbed her by the arms and pulled her back, sending her slightly stumbling against the person behind her.

“You should stay away from the site, younger Kusahara.”

Knowing that only one person calls her that, Shizuku looked behind her and sighed in relief when she saw Okita there. Beside the older male, Kusahara and Hijikata stood with identical expressions of slight disgust on their face as they looked at the explosions.

Suddenly, a cement brick came from nowhere and hit Hijikata in the head, causing him to bleed out.

“Hijikata-san!” Shizuku gasped as she pulled out a handkerchief from under her sleeve and began wiping the blood out from the taller male’s face. “Are you alright? Can you still see my fingers?”

“Alright, step back.” Kusahara and Okita called towards the crowd that was gathering. “It’s dangerous.” They said at the same time.

“You’ll end up like this guy.” Okita added while pointing at Hijikata. “He doesn’t look hurt because of his poker face, but trust me, he’s suffering inside.”

A few more explosions continuously rang in the air as Hijikata thanked Shizuku. He gently pulled her behind him, Okita and Kusahara as they looked at the exploding factory, shielding her from the debris.

“One hell of a mess that this turned out to be.” The Vice-Chief muttered lowly.

“You’re pretty messy, too, Hijikata-san.” Okita answered.

“Do you think that jerk, Yamazaki, died in that?”

“I’ll bet that you’re going to die, too, aren’t you, Hijikata-san?”

“Please don’t talk about anyone dying.”

“Shizuku, that’s their everyday conversation, just saying.”

“Fukuchou!” someone called from behind Shizuku, making her and the three officers in front of her look back.

“We just got word that the Chief is inside with Yamazaki.” Harada informed the Vice-Chief.

“What?” Hijikata growled slightly. “Come on. If it was just Yamazaki, I was going to say forget it.” he sighed. “But I can’t do that if Kondou-san is with him.”

“Don’t be like that, Hijikata-san!” Shizuku frowned at she hit the taller male in the arm. “Besides, Gin-san is also there!”

“Huh?” the dark haired male looked down at Shizuku. “Why would I care about that perm head?” Shizuku gave the older another hit after she huffed at him.

“Hijikata-san, Kusahara-san.” Okita’s voice suddenly called from behind the two. “I forgot my flute at home. I’m going to go fetch it.” he said while attempting to enter the patrol car station behind them.

“Okay, don’t come back.” Hijikata and Kusahara replied at the same time.

“Jeez, how pathetic.” The older growled. “That’s enough. I’ll go by myself. You all wait here.” He said before another officer exclaimed something about a cannon coming out from the second floor of the factory.

“That’s the weapon that they were secretly building?” Harada asked out loud from beside Shizuku.

“Sougo, I forgot my protractor at home.” Hijikata suddenly said. “I’m going to go and fetch it.”

“Seriously?!” Shizuku and Kusahara shrieked at the same time.

“Hijikata-san, it’s alright.” Okita replied while holding up a protractor in his hand. “I have a protractor right here.”

Suddenly, the sound of someone narrating something was heard, gaining everyone’s attention. They looked up at the large cannon that was coming out from the factory and saw the owner standing there with a diary in his hands, ranting something his son and his job. Honestly, after the first sentence, Shizuku drowned the man out.

“He’s making the chapter too long.” Kusahara sighed as he and the other Shinsengumi officers stepped up towards the factory.

“Let’s get this over with.” Hijikata hummed as he placed a cigarette in between his lips. “Ready the cannon.”

There was a sudden presence behind Hijikata and Kusahara that made them both look back.

“Okita-san, stop trying to kill them!” Shizuku scolded the brown haired male that was aiming the Shinsengumi cannon towards the heads of the two taller males.

“Eh?!” Okita gasped, seemingly not bothered at all.

“Don’t ‘eh?!’ me, Okita-san!”

“Fukuchou! Look at that!” Harada suddenly exclaimed, making them all look at the factory.

“Gin-san!” Shizuku gasped, looking at Gintoki all tied up with Kondou and Yamazaki.

The owner of the factory chuckled. “I know that they’re your friends.” He said with a smug expression on his face. “Shoot, if you want to stop me, but they’ll be blown to bits, too.”

Okita nonchalantly activated the cannon.

“Okita-san!” Shizuku angrily knocked on the brunet’s head. “Stop trying to kill everyone!”

“Long ago, Kondou-san may or may not have said that if he was caught by an enemy, we would shoot without hesitation.” The older said nonchalantly as Shizuku continued hitting him.

“You fired at them because of a perfunctory reason like that?!” Hijikata angrily growled at the brunet. Kusahara had to pull the older male back to prevent him from strangling the younger.

“Wait, hold on!” Shizuku suddenly called, gaining everyone’s attention. “Kondou-san’s pulling them out!” on cue, Kondou pulled Gintoki down from the factory’s second floor with Yamazaki jumping with them. They suddenly started to run towards Shizuku and the others.

“Now, fire while we have the chance!” Hijikata commanded. Okita immediately fired the cannon in front of him. Beside him, Kusahara also fired his own cannon at Hijikata’s command.

A second later, the large cannon on the factory also fired, causing Shizuku to act on instinct and grab the nearest person next to her for cover. She felt arms wrap around her small frame and pull her down and away from the blast.

“I should really get paid more for saving you a bunch of times, don’t you think, younger Kusahara?”

Shizuku looked up and saw Okita use his arm to cover her head from the debris that were falling towards them. Without noticing it, Shizuku was holding on to the older male’s uniform tightly with her hands, as if her life depended on it.

“Thank you, Okita-san.” Shizuku nervously smiled, earning a small nod from the brunet before he watched the young girl sit up on her own.

“Hey, is everyone still alive?” Hijikata called at his officers before looking at Shizuku sitting beside him. “Are you hurt?” he asked with an obvious worried tone in his voice.

“No, I’m fine.” Shizuku shook her head before making eye contact with Kusahara up front. She gave a thumbs up to tell him that she was alright. The older nodded his head before he faced forwards and focused on his mission.

“This thing’s insane.” Okita commented from beside Shizuku. “It seems like it has enough power to really be able to wipeout the country.”

“Zaki-san and the others were hit.” Shizuku gasped as she attempted to stand up, only to be held back by Hijikata grabbing her wrist.

“No way.” The older said sternly. “You’re a civilian, Shizuku. Understand that it’s our job to keep you safe and know that you don’t have anything that could protect you except for us.”

“But-,”

“Shizuku, listen to what the Vice-Chief says.” Kusahara said from in front of them. “We’ll handle this. You’ve done enough just by locating Kondou-san and Gintoki-san.”

Reluctantly, Shizuku nodded as she sat back down and clenched her fists.

“Did you see the power of the Viper Z?!” the owner of the factory exclaimed from his spot. “With this, Edo will be scorched in an instant! Go ahead! Just try to stop me! You, weak samurai, who have adjusted to the times cannot stop me! Come on! If you don’t hurry, I’ll force my next shot! Everyone’s Edo will become a scorched field!” He laughed maniacally before he continued.

“What’s wrong? Are you frozen in fear? How pathetic!”

“If you want to shoot, then be our guest.”

Shizuku and the others’ eyes widened at the sudden sight of Kagura and Shinpachi standing in front of Gintoki, who laid tied up on the ground.

“We don’t care if you fry or boil Edo. You better not shoot this guy and our friends.” Shinpachi yelled up at the owner of the factory.

“This is not a place for kids!” the owner yelled at the two. “Take the other girl and go home!”

“W – why?” Gintoki stuttered as he looked up at the two teens standing in front of him. “Why are you here? Why did you come all the way here? Didn’t I tell you to forget all about me? I said that we should live however we wanted to.”

Shinpachi and Kagura suddenly stepped on Gintoki’s head.

“You didn’t have to tell us what to do.” Kagura said lowly. “We came here on our own. Besides, we’re not doing this for you.”

“We’re already living the way we want to.” Shinpachi said while looking down at Gintoki.

“Guys!” Shizuku called as she stood from her spot.

“Shizu-nee, we’re sorry.” Kagura said softly without looking back. “We didn’t know what you were doing for the past two weeks.”

“We even thought that you gave up on Gin-san. To be honest, we got angry.” Shinpachi continued. “But after finding out what you did, we felt sorry for ourselves for doing nothing.”

“We’re not letting this guy die, we promise you.” Kagura said as she tightly held on to her umbrella.

“We don’t want to see you sad, Shizu-nee.”

Gintoki’s eyes widened as he watched the Shinsengumi lined up in front of him. Kusahara stood directly in front of the white haired male with Kagura and Shinpachi at either side of him. Hijikata stood beside Shinpachi, while Okita stood beside Kagura.

“I understand Kusahara-san, but what are _you_ doing?” Shinpachi asked Hijikata, who was sighing beside him.

“Like what I told Shizuku earlier, it’s our job to protect her and ordinary citizens.” The older replied before looking forwards. “And besides, she seems adamant on keeping this guy alive.

“Mamushi-san!” Kusahara yelled up at the owner of the factory. “If you want to fire, fire on us all.” He called.

“But you have to be careful when you do, because you’ll anger the perm head alien behind us!”

“Wait.”

Gintoki suddenly voiced as his eyes widened. “’Perm head alien’?” he muttered to himself. “Where did I hear that before?”

The only one that heard what he said was Kusahara, who just stayed quiet as he reached for his sword. Without a second to waste, he and the others charged forwards and ran towards the factory while the cannon was still recharging for power.

Gintoki watched everyone, still thinking to himself.

“Although I appreciate it, Nori-san should stop talking for me.”

Gintoki suddenly turned to the side when he heard Shizuku’s voice near him. He watched as the young girl kneeled beside him and game a smile.

“You know, you really look like an alien, Gin-san.”

_“Alien…. Perm…. head-san!”_

A memory from almost thirteen years ago rushed past Gintoki’s head as his eyes widened, still looking up at Shizuku’s face as the young girl pulled on the ropes around his body.

_“Who are you….? What’s with…. white hair?”_

_“What’s your name, alien-san?”_

_“I have weird hair…. look! It’s…. teal!”_

All of a sudden, Shizuku gasped when Gintoki stood up and wiggled out of the rest of his restraints.

“Gin-san…?” the teal haired girl called softly.

Gintoki just placed a gentle hand over her head without looking at her.

“You know,” he started, his voice soft.

“Your teal hair looks beautiful, Shizuku.”

Without another word, Gintoki dashed away from the young girl and asked Shinpachi for his sword. He jumped up to the cannon and cut it down without saying anything and everyone watched as the whole factory exploded.

Shizuku stood up and watched Gintoki emerge from the smoke and slowly walk towards the Yorozuya before he stopped in his tracks and looked up at the sky.

“Let’s go home.” He said before continuing to walk forwards with the two teens following closely behind him with wide smiles on their faces. They didn’t stop when they passed by Shizuku, who was standing there with her hands clasped in front of her.

“I don’t know what I saw and heard, but you’re really a lucky girl, aren’t you?” Gintoki asked as he patted Shizuku’s head again.

He and the Yorozuya walked away a second later.

The shade from an umbrella covered Shizuku as she stayed rooted on her spot, watching the trio’s backs.

“What did you say to him?” Kusahara asked while standing next to the younger girl while holding her umbrella over their heads.

“Nothing.” Shizuku just smiled.

“You know; it was actually you who jogged his memory.”

Kusahara scoffed lightly.

“If I had known that he would remember everything if we just told him how the two of you first met, then this whole ordeal would’ve never happened at all.”

Shizuku sighed.

“If I told him that, then he would ask a lot of questions. Frankly, remembering anything about me when I was young is just too painful. I just…. I don’t want to remember… Even if I never really forgot.”

“Yeah, I know… Better than anybody else.”

Shizuku thumbed over her snowflake necklace as she watched Gintoki’s back slowly fade away from her sight.

They never talked about the incident ever again.

* * *

_ TELL US, SHIZAKURA-SENSEI!! _

Alright everyone, we have questions from @Wish_I_was_Orochimaru-san.

First!

Question: "Did Shizuku lose her memories?"

Answer: Uhh..... *Cue Sakamoto's signature laugh* ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha *gets slapped in the face*

Alright, that's the only time we've got, so see you all in the next chapter!

Remember, some of your questions will appear at the end of chapters just like this one, so ask away in the form provided in the notes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


	22. Some questions are better left unanswered

* * *

_XIX_

_Manga: Chapter 54_

_Anime: Episode 33_

* * *

SHIZUKU woke up early in the morning, ready for the day.

She got up and stretched her body, brightly looking at the backyard when she opened her windows to let the cool morning air in. She knew that there was no one else there except for her since, as usual, Kusahara was already at the station and Otae was out with her friends from the hostess club. It has already been a week since the incident at the justaway factory, and since Shinpachi was staying over at the Yorozuya to help rebuild the office, Shizuku knew that she was alone at the house.

It was a nice and sunny day, so Shizuku thought about walking around town once again – because that’s the only thing that the author can come up with to start a chapter. Shizuku went out of her room to heat up the food at the refrigerator – she knew that it was Kusahara who made it. She ate alone in silence as she watched the birds flutter around on the outside of the house. After a few minutes of savoring her food, she went to the bathroom and refreshed herself, then she changed her clothes and went out of the house, ready for the day. She lifted her umbrella over her head and started walking around Edo.

Shizuku waved as she passed by a couple of people that she recognized, like Hasegawa and Katsura – of course, she met with him as discretely as possible. She went to the stores that she frequented in, like Ikumatsu’s ramen shop and the sweetshop that Gintoki often takes her to. She was enjoying her moment alone with herself before a certain cigarette smoking, dark haired male passed by and caught her attention.

“HIjikata-san, hey.” Shizuku greeted the tall male as she slightly waved at him.

“Oh, Shizuku.” Hijikata called when he finally noticed that the young girl was there.

Lifting her umbrella, Shizuku smiled at the taller male. “It’s nice to see you again, Hijikata-san. What brings you here?” she asked.

“Kondou-san just sent me on a job.” The older male replied. “But I still have no luck with it.” he said before he sighed.

Shizuku tilted her head to the side. “A job that you failed at?” she asked, almost in an unbelieving tone. “I was under the impression that you could do anything, Hijikata-san.”

“Well, thanks for saying that.” Hijikata slightly chuckled before he looked at the young girl in front of him. “Speaking, I could recruit you.”

“Recruit me?” Shizuku asked curiously. “What?” she blinked.

“You see; I was looking for people who could take care of the station for a while.” The older answered while scratching the back of his head. “I’m sure that you’ve heard from your cousin. Did he tell you that we’re leaving tomorrow?”

“He might’ve mentioned it, yes.” the young girl replied, remembering what Kusahara told her the day before about the mission outside the city that will take them at least a week to accomplish, so he wouldn’t come home for a while. “Nori-san told me that you’re going away for a while. Though, he didn’t tell me where you’re going.”

“Yeah, that’s right. It’s classified, so I’m not surprised that he didn’t tell you where we’re going.” Hijikata nodded. “And the whole of the Shinsengumi will come. Our cooks and the others don’t live in the Station, so they won’t be there when we leave. No one will take care of the station.”

“What?” Shizuku blinked. “Aren’t you supposed to, I don’t know, leave some of your officers behind, Hijikata-san? Who’ll protect Edo when you’re gone?”

“We aren’t the only officers here, so we’re going to be fine, probably. And besides, we are leaving some of us behind.” The older male sighed. “But they’re all new recruits, so they don’t have much training, yet, and they’ll just be doing patrol around Edo. They’ll be doing small jobs for a while.”

“And, when do I come to the picture?” Shizuku politely asked.

“As I told you before, we need someone to look after the station while we’re gone.” Hijikata replied with a slightly softer voice. “I was thinking… since you already have a little bit of experience staying at the station and helping around, do you think that you could do it again for at least a week more? I think that the readers were expecting this, too.”

Shizuku thought about it for a second, thinking of the possibilities of things happening while she’s at the station with a bunch of newly recruited officers. She figures that it wouldn’t be that bad, considering that she’s fairly good at handling the other officers. After thinking that she would probably make good friends with the new recruits, and after thinking that she didn’t have much to do, anyways, Shizuku smiled up at the tall male.

“Sure, Hijikata-san.” She answered with a large grin on her face. “I don’t mind watching the Shinsengumi Station while you’re gone.”

“That’s good to hear.” the older male nodded before he gestured to the direction of the station. “But first, let’s tell your cousin, since – even though this is set at the point of time that you can get married at your age – you’re still a minor and he’s your legal guardian.”

“I’m sure he’ll be alright with it.” Shizuku smiled.

Just as the young girl predicted, Kusahara was mostly alright with the plan. Just as long as Shizuku doesn’t get into trouble – not that it was common for her to find herself in some sort of situation that she doesn’t know how to handle – then he’s alright about letting his cousin watch over the station while they’re gone. Kondou also agreed almost immediately and he was happy that Hijikata had found someone to do the job in such short notice. He was actually happy that a familiar face is willing to spend at least a week at the Station to watch over the compound.

“Since you’re already quite accustomed to being here, I’m sure you already know about the rules we have.” Kondou said as he looked at the girl sitting across from him. It was a little over lunchtime and Shizuku was sitting inside the meeting room at the Shinsengumi headquarters with the Chief, Vice-Chief and Kusahara.

“Yes, Kondou-san” Shizuku nodded before she pulled up a finger. “Anything that I hear and see inside the station will stay in the station, and I’m not allowed to snoop around.” She reported after pulling up a second finger.

Since she constantly went to the Station to give a change of clothes for Kusahara, and since she occasionally went there to help with treatment of injured officers, she already knew what to do when she stepped foot inside. Hijikata even showed her the Shinsengumi Kyuukuchou Hatto – as odd as it seemed – when he was lecturing her about the rules inside the Station. Of course, the seppuku part of the code doesn’t apply to her, but her punishment is close to that.

After hearing Shizuku’s response, Kondou beamed “Good.” He said with a grin. “We’ll be leaving first thing in the morning tomorrow, so don’t be shocked if you come here and there’s no one around.”

“I can stay for the night, if you want, Kondou-san.” Shizuku suggested. “If you’re going to leave that early, you won’t be able to eat anything. Hijikata-san said that your cooks aren’t going to be here.” She said, her female instincts suddenly kicking in.

“Are you sure?” Kondou asked with a faint worried tone in his voice. “We can do it.”

“It’s fine for me.” Shizuku answered with a grin. “I’m sure that you already know but I’m actually a really good cook.” She huffed with pride.

“Literally everyone who’s read this knows.” Kusahara answered from his spot outside of the room, on the patio. “She can literally cook for a battalion, and that’s exactly what we are.” He said with a chuckle.

“Wow, how old are you, really, Shizuku?” Hijikata blinked. “I’ve met a lot of people around your age, and most of them can’t even do shit. The author can’t even do that and she’s older than you.”

“When there’s no one to do it, I try my best to learn how to do it.” The teal haired girl answered with a slight shrug.

“Well, I’ll look forward to what you make, then!” Kondou laughed loudly before he stood up and ordered someone on the outside to clear a room for Shizuku to stay in – which wouldn’t be much of a problem because she already tried to sleep there only a chapter ago, when Hijikata carried her to the Station after finding her passed out by the river bank.

After the officer saluted and moved out from the room, Kondou turned around to look back at Shizuku, who was still sitting there while nursing a cup of tea.

“You can go around Edo for a bit, while we fix your room.” The older said with a chuckle. “I’m sure you want to visit the Yorozuya and their office. I heard that they were rebuilding.”

“Can I really go?” Shizuku asked while gently putting down her teacup. “I mean; I can stay here.”

“We don’t want to bind you down here, Shizuku-chan. Technically, you’re not an officially hired helper of the Shinsengumi – but we’re going to pay you for this job, of course – so you have the right to move in and out of the Station for this day.” Kondou said with some sort of a fatherly smile. “Just as long as you return by sundown, then you’re free to go.”

“Thank you, Kondou-san!” Shizuku smiled brightly before finishing her tea and jumping up from her seat. She bowed lowly at the three officers inside the room with her before she ran out, going to the direction of the main building, where she grabbed her sandals and her umbrella and took off with a smile on her face.

Kabuki-chou was a bit of a distance away, but Shizuku happily walked towards the Yorozuya office. She skipped along the sidewalk as she held on her blue umbrella. About half an hour later, she arrived at the Yorozuya, shocked to see them already done with their repairs, despite the whole building being destroyed only a chapter or two ago.

“Eh?!” the young girl exclaimed.

“Oh, Shizu-nee!” Kagura yelled from the balcony and ran down to hug the older girl. Following close behind the younger girl, Gintoki and Shinpachi waved at the teal haired girl.

“When did you guys finish?” Shizuku asked as she patted Kagura’s hair after returning the hug.

“Yesterday!” Kagura beamed. “We had people to do it for us!”

“Eh?” The teal haired girl let out a confused sound. “But, I thought that you wanted to do it yourself because you didn’t have any money?”

“Remember the merchant guy that we said that was friends with Gin-san?” Shinpachi said with a finger raised in the air. “He’s the same person that crashed his spaceship here.”

“You mean, Sakamoto-san?” Shizuku asked with slightly wide eyes.

“Yes, him.” Shinpachi nodded.

“That guy’s stinking rich.” Gintoki piped up from behind the young boy. “He paid someone to come fix the Yorozuya for us.”

“Oh.” Shizuku blinked before she looked down.

“Sakamoto-san….” She muttered to herself. “Tat…. su….”

“Do you remember him?” Gintoki suddenly asked the young girl when Shinpachi and Kagura went inside Otose’s bar.

“What was that?” Shizuku asked as she innocently looked up at the older male.

There was a while of silence between the two of them as Gintoki just stared at Shizuku’s eyes.

Gintoki sighed after a while as he pulled on Shizuku’s wrist and directed her towards the inside of Otose’s bar. Once they were sitting down in front of the old woman, Gintoki’s eyes never left Shizuku. The young girl was too busy chatting with Kagura to even notice anything.

Otose, however, being the wise woman that she was, noticed, but she didn’t comment on anything.

The four stayed there for hours. When Shizuku noticed the time, she suddenly stood up from her seat.

“Sorry, guys, but I have to go.” She said as she went to grab her umbrella from the stand by the door.

“Eh, but it’s too early, Shizuku-chan.” Shinpachi called as he looked at the clock by the wall.

“I forgot to mention that I’m going to stay over at the Shinsengumi station for a while.” Shizuku sheepishly answered. “I was tasked to watch over the place while the officers are out. It’s kind of like a job.” She chuckled.

“So, you’re going to be alone there?” Gintoki asked as he took a sip of his strawberry milk, his eyes not leaving the countertop.

“There will be a few new recruits around, but yeah, I’ll be alone for most of the time.” Shizuku answered before she looked at her watch around her left wrist. “I better get going, see you!” she excused herself after she bowed. She went out of the bar and walked towards the Shinsengumi station, silently humming to herself as she smiled.

There was silence at the bar for a while. No one was talking and no one knew why. It was Otose who broke it.

“Gintoki, talk, right now.” The old woman said with a low voice. There were no other customers present and the surrounding was slowly getting darker and darker due to the setting of the sun. Everyone was quiet, even Catherine was waiting for Gintoki to answer Otose’s statement. Kagura and Shinapchi slowly got the message in the air to shut up and they both stayed quiet.

“I’m not talking.” Gintoki replied sternly after a while as he stood from his seat and placed his cup on the table. “There’s no use trying to squeeze something out from me.” he said before he attempted to walk out of the bar.

Otose grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back.

“Oi, Catherine.” The old woman called without looking at the Amanto behind her. “Take the brats up to the office.”

“O – Otose-san!” Shinpachi protested, but he stopped with the old woman shot him a sharp look of “Don’t test me, boy.”

The young boy then took Kagura by the hand and walked out of the bar with Catherine behind them. It was clear that neither of the three wanted to leave, but they also knew that Gintoki won’t talk if they were there.

They’ll just have to figure things out on their own.

They closed the door behind them.

After a minute of pure silence, Otose spoke again. “The kids are gone.” She said as she gestured to the chair in front of the bar table. “Now, start talking.”

“I told you that nothing will get me talking, Granny.” Gintoki said with sharper eyes than usual as he looked over his shoulder. “It’s better that way.” He muttered as he looked back on the floor.

“Spare me the act, Gintoki. Tell me everything while Shizuku isn’t here.” Otose replied with a scoff. “Seriously, you’re all making the readers become so confused because you’re still not saying anything about her and her cousin at all. If you keep this up for any longer, everyone’s going to stop reading this shit.”

“You think that I don’t know that?” Gintoki snapped while keeping his eyes on the floor. “This isn’t good for the story, I know.” He muttered.

“So, it’s true? The rumors and the theories?” Otose asked. “You knew her even before the story started?”

Gintoki didn’t say anything, he just sat back on his usual chair and bowed his head low.

The old woman with him sighed heavily.

“I’m going to have to make a guess that you knew her at the war.” She said, but Gintoki didn’t answer.

“Wait…” the old woman paused.

“You’ve known her even before the war.”

Gintoki sighed lowly as he rested his head on the back of his hands. “There’s no point in digging about her and me.” he said, his voice almost inaudible for Otose. “She doesn’t remember anything, so why should I care anymore?”

“Wow, this is a rare sight.” Otose laughed, her voice a little hoarser than usual. “The famous Sakata Gintoki giving up.”

“I’m not giving up.” The white haired male replied lowly. “I’m just saying that there’s no use. Shizuku’s not the person that I’ve known. At lease, not anymore.”

“Just because she forgot who she was, doesn’t mean she’s not the same person that you knew.” Otose tried to reason, a little unnerved at the display of defeat that the younger was showing her. “I’m sure that she’s just different.”

“No, Granny.” Gintoki growled lowly before he slowly raised his head to look at Otose’s eyes. “She’s not supposed to be here.”

“I mean; yeah, she and her cousin shouldn’t be here because the Gorilla made the original story.” Otose raised a brow.

“You don’t understand.” Gintoki suddenly clenched his fists.

“She’s _not_ supposed to _be_ here!”

Shizuku happily skipped along the sidewalk before breaking into a slow jog when she saw gate of the station down the corner of the road. She greeted the officers that were stationed outside the gates and went in, going directly towards the main building and entering the meeting room that she was in only a few hours ago. She was greeted by Kusahara and Yamazaki, who were both nursing a cup of tea in their hands, seemingly in the middle of a conversation when she came in.

“Where’s Kondou-san and the others?” Shizuku asked after she greeted the two Shinsengumi officers.

“He’s on a meeting with Matsudaira-totsan.” Kusahara answered while putting down his cup. “Hijikata-san and Okita-kun are with him. They’ll be back in time for dinner.”

“Speaking of dinner, I’ll go make some, right now. They might be hungry when they come back.” Shizuku said as she pulled out her tasuki from under her sleeve and began tying up her sleeves, before proceeding to tie up her hair with a thin ribbon.

“I’ll help.” Kusahara offered as he stood up.

“I’ll wait for the others.” Yamazaki waved at the two before they left the building to go to the kitchens at the back.

About an hour and a half later, dinner was already ready – as crazy as it sounds – and the three top officers of the Shinsengumi were already back from their meeting. They were greeted by a big serving of food in the mess hall.

“Wow!” Kondou exclaimed when he entered the room with Hijikata and Okita.

“Enjoy!” Shizuku beamed brightly as she gestured to the food.

Without another second to even blink, Shizuku watched in slight shock as all the Shinsengumi officers dove into their plates and literally devoured everything that was on the table – minus the actual plates and bowls, of course. The mess hall became a loud warzone in seconds. Shizuku had to slightly step back in order not to get caught in the Shinsengumi’s war for food.

“Is it always like this?” she asked as she looked up at Kusahara standing beside her.

“No.” the older amusingly shook his head. “They just go this crazy when the food is actually good.”

“Shizuku-chan, please stay here forever!”

“Kondou-san, hire her immediately!”

“Please don’t leave us, Shizuku-chan!”

Shizuku and Kusahara shared a look with each other before the younger laughed softly at the various comments that were directed towards her way. The two of them quietly when off to eat their own share of the food as the rest of the officers fought in the background.

When the warzone already calmed down, a couple of hours later, and everyone was already either lying on their backs either on the table or on the floor, Shizuku roamed around and collected everyone’s plates, slowly making everyone stand up to get to bed for tomorrow’s journey.

“Come on, Okita-san, Kondou-san.” Shizuku slightly pouted as she tried to pull both Kondou and Okita to their feet, but the two seemed to be too out of it to even look at Shizuku.

“No, I’m too full.” Kondou groaned, lying on his side.

“Younger Kusahara, stop feeding me.” Okita muttered.

“Okita-san, this is literally the first time that I fed you.” Shizuku replied as she tapped on the older male’s head. “Now, stand up so you can sleep. You’re the only ones here in the dining hall.” The young girl looked around and saw that the mess hall was already empty, save for the four top officers of the Shinsengumi and, of course, Shizuku.

“Just leave them.” Hijikata commented as he pulled out a cigarette. “It’s their first time eating this much again. It’s almost a miracle to get the two of them to eat in the first place.”

Understanding that officers rarely have the time, Shizuku sighed before she pulled Okita up to his feet while Kusahara supported the brunet on the other side. Behind them, Hijikata did the same thing to Kondou.

“We’ll take them back.” Kusahara said as he pulled Okita up to keep him from falling. “Will you be alright cleaning on your own?” he asked the young girl behind him.

“I’ll be fine.” Shizuku nodded before she waved at the four and watched them leave the building. After a while of silence, she turned around to look at the mess that the officers had made and sighed heavily.

“This is alright, Shizuku. You’ve dealt with much worse. The amount of blood that you’ve cleaned doesn’t even compare to this.”

It took Shizuku about an hour and a half to clean everything up. She also took another thirty minutes inside the guest’s bath to relax and when she was freshened up, she changed into her pajamas – which was brought by Kusahara from the house earlier that day – and went toward the room that was prepared for her.

She slept easy that night.

The next day, Shizuku woke up when the sun was still sleeping and the moon was still up. Her hair was still a bit wet from not drying up properly because of her sleeping when she was fresh out from the bath, so she had a bit of trouble tying it up properly. She changed into her usual blue, purple and teal short kimono and slowly crept out of her room.

Shizuku slowly walked down the hallways with silent footsteps as she tied her sleeves up – she was already considering asking Kusahara to buy her a sleeveless kimono for convenience. A few minutes later, she got to the kitchen and immediately started to make breakfast for everyone. She slowly hummed a song to herself as she cooked, happily moving around the kitchen on her own, just as she did so a lot of times before.

An hour and a half later, she was already about to finish cooking. Only a few minutes after she plated the food, officers started to file inside the mess hall, ready to eat again. Shizuku happily served them breakfast before the officers refreshed themselves inside the bathrooms.

Roughly two hours later, when the sun was just about to rise, the Shinsengumi officers all stood at attention, all of them in their uniforms, ready to head out. After a final briefing from Kondou, they all bid goodbye to Shizuku, who was standing by the platform that led towards the main building, waving at them and telling them good luck with their mission. A few minutes later, Shizuku was left in the station with a bunch of new recruits, who were already getting ready for their patrols around Edo.

The girl sighed as she entered the empty station.

“Well, I guess I’m left here for a whole week.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Voting for the POPULARITY POLL ARCS and for QUESTIONS and REQUESTS, click below.
> 
> [This is the Link](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeKNpnXC47uqAVI3hJgMQTKZfq6-DVtYwS73dwedonCJLnqnA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> Thank you!


End file.
